Never Too Late
by MakorraLove97
Summary: A series of *Maxton* one-shots that focus on their relationship as it continues to develop and as they continue to go through various obstacles. The excitement and journey for Mike Weston, Max Hardy, and Ryan Hardy is never over, but they have each other, and that's good enough to get through it all. *Taking Prompts!* *Romance/Fluff/Angst/Humor/Drama/Hurt/Comfort - you name it!*
1. Brighter Future

**Hi everyone! So, this story is going to be a series of Maxton one-shots that don't relate to one another. They're just random ideas that are unrelated one-shots. The one-shots will consist of Romance/Hurt/Comfort/Angst/Drama... you name it! I hope you enjoy and I really appreciate you all reading. :) I don't know if this is my _best_ one, but hopefully you all still enjoy reading it. :3 The next chapter should be up soon!  
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***I _do_ accept prompts; whatever ideas you have, feel free to either PM me or leave a review.***

**Also, just a notice for the lovely people who left reviews on my other two Maxton stories (_"Saving You" _and _"There For Me"_), I just wanted you all to know that the ideas you left and requested me to write, I am _definitely_ going to do them! I love all the ideas you left me and I promise I will get started on working on them! :)**

_**Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it, I would really appreciate it, thank you!**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

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"Brighter Future"**  
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**. . .**

Max sighs heavily as she sits down on her Uncle's couch. She lifts her feet up and places them on the coffee table as she places both hands on her flat stomach. She is feeling so many emotions right now, but what stands out the most is _fear_. She's scared- _terrified_.

She listens to the silence that deafens her Uncle's apartment as she waits for Ryan and Mike. They are all supposed to meet up at Ryan's apartment after work so they could all have dinner together. She got off work early and now she waits for Ryan and Mike to finish working and pick up the Chinese food, considering the three of them are hopeless when it comes to cooking and using a stove.

Digging into her pocket of her thin, black sweater, she pulls out a small stick that has a small symbol in the center. She sucks in a deep breath and uses her other hand to run it through her hair. "Oh my God…" She mutters to herself as she feels herself ready to throw up her lunch.

This was not supposed to happen. This _could not_ be happening. She would give anything to make this all a dream and to just wake up and forget this ever happened. As one hand holds tightly onto the stick with her eyes fixated on it as well, her free hand drops from her hair back to her stomach.

Max's fingers brush beneath her tank top and they draw meaningless circles on her skin, sending small shivers down her spine. She can feel the panic flow throughout her body as her breathing quickens and her insides twist into painful knots. Her hands are shaking and while the anger boils within her veins, tears threaten to spill.

She tries closing her eyes, squeezing them shut, as she takes deep breaths, hoping this would control her emotions, but her mind won't turn off. Her thoughts are filling her head endlessly, making it impossible for her to relax. She tries gathering her thoughts together so when Mike and Ryan return they don't see her as some nervous wreck, but before she has the time to do so, her thoughts are interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing.

Her eyes snap wide open as her hand with the stick quickly is shoved back into her sweater pocket. She looks up to see Mike Weston walk over towards her with a crooked grin plastered on his face. "Hey." She weakly smiles at him as she silently prays he doesn't notice her uneasiness and the way her voice is uneven.

"Hey, Max." Mike greets his girlfriend of two years now as he trails over to her, "Sorry we're late."

Max stands up from the couch and stands directly in front of him, her eyes flicker up at the agent and a wave of panic washes over her. _I can't tell him_. She swallows hard and tries to put on a smile as she asks with a tilt to the head, "It's fine, I just got here anyways about an hour ago. Everything okay?"

"Everything's fine, just was finishing up some work. Ryan should probably be back in a half an hour; when I left he was just finishing some stuff and then he is going to pick up the food." Mike shrugs while his hands slowly wrap around Max's waist. "Missed you."

She grins up at him. _I have to tell him._ "I missed you, too." _Deep breathes, sit him down, and tell him. Simple._ She gazes up into his eyes and as he leans his head down to press his lips gently on hers, she feels her knees weaken. _Okay, not simple._

The next thing she knows is that she feels his weight on top of her as she gets pressed down on the couch. He kisses her lips softly before trailing down to her jaw and slowly to her neck. He brushes her hair out of the way so he could kiss and suck on her neck right where her pulse is located.

"Mike…" She moans as her eyes flutter close. _If I don't do it now, I'll never do it. We're alone and before we start doing what caused this situation in the first place, I need to tell him. _She bites down on her lip as his hands gently slide beneath her shirt; his warm hands rubbing up and down her sides. _If I don't stop now, neither of us will be able to stop. _"Mike…" She repeats his name with a sigh as his lips start working their way back upwards. Before she could say anything else, his lips capture hers and she melts into him.

"What?" He finally asks in between their kisses. He smiles into the kiss when he hears her moan in pleasure. She literally finds whatever words she wanted to say stuck in her throat as he deepens the kiss and uses one hand to caress her cheek.

She smiles against the kiss, not finding it in herself to ruin the moment. She had a stressful day at work and then finding out what she did when she arrived at her Uncle's apartment… she just needed a distraction. She will have to tell him at some point, but for now, before Ryan gets back, she needs to forget.

Max's mind finally drifted off; her thoughts leaving her alone as Mike held her body close to his. He already threw off his jacket, throwing it carelessly onto the floor, and is now working on her sweater. He goes to slide her sweater off, but he suddenly feels something slide out of her pocket and fall next to her thigh.

His eyebrows furrow in confusion as he opens his eyes to look to see what fell out of her pocket. She still has her eyes closed, but when she no longer feels any movement, she opens her eyes to see what is going on. That's when reality hits her and she realizes what he is now focused on.

"Mike-!" She quickly goes to grab the stick, but he beats her to it. He grabs it and his face automatically pales. _Shit_. She watches his face silently as his eyes remain glued to the item in his hand. "Mike, let me expla-"

Mike looks up at her with confusion swimming in his eyes as his face reminds her of an innocent child who just found out their hamster never ran away and really died all those years ago. "Are you… Max, you're pregnant?"

She swallows hard around the burning lump in her throat as she hesitates. She glances down at the pregnancy test in his hand before slowly glancing back up to meet his waiting eyes. She opens her mouth to speak, but no words form as a growing pit twists inside of her stomach. Instead, she nods her head.

"I haven't been feeling well lately and I noticed that I missed my period, so, after work I went to the drug store and bought a pregnancy test." She stands up and walks over to the window, her eyes fixated on the traffic below. "I found out a few minutes before you got here and I was going to tell you…"

He doesn't look up at her as she speaks, his eyes are focused on the test in his hands. _She's… pregnant? I'm going to be a… _"Dad." He breathes out finally, "I'm going to be a father and you…" He tears his eyes away from the test and his eyes connect with hers immediately. He can't read her expression and he's sure she probably can't read his either; quite honestly, he doesn't have a clue what he is feeling right now.

She nods her head slowly as she wraps her arms tightly around herself, "Yeah. I'm going to be a mother and you're going to be a father." It takes a few moments, but the corners of Mike's mouth twitches up into a small smile. However, it falls right afterwards after hearing Max's next sentence: "That is, if we keep it."

"What?"The agent asks, feeling as if all the wind was just knocked out of him. "What do you mean 'if we keep it'?"

"Oh come on, Mike!" Max cries as she shakes her head, turning her back to him. She sighs heavily, "You're a FBI agent and I'm a cop. We're just dating and we're _just_ getting our lives together-"

"_Just_ getting our lives back together? Max, it's been two years. _Two years_! That whole madness with Joe Carroll and Lily Gray is behind all of us now. We've been together for two years and-"

"And that doesn't change the fact that we both have dangerous jobs!" She cuts him off as she throws her hands up in the air, "We're always risking our lives. _Especially_ you!"

Mike gently places the pregnancy test on the coffee table and then walks over to her. She doesn't look at him, but he stands directly in front of her. He takes one hand and rests it on Max's hip and he uses his other hand to caress her cheek. "Listen, I get where you're coming from. Being with the FBI is… dangerous and being a cop isn't easy either, but hey, we made it through the craziness of the cults. If we could do that, we could make it through whatever else, 'kay?"

"Mike, you don't get it!" She pushes away from him and runs a shaky hand through her hair, "Mark is still out there somewhere and he's pissed! I killed his twin brother and you killed his mother… he's going to come after us. He's, I don't know, keeping us in suspense; forcing us to live _every day_, wondering when he will make his appearance. He will come after us and you don't think for a damn second that he won't use our child as bait?"

He could see the tears shining in her eyes and he can now see why she is truly terrified of having a child. She's scared of bringing a child in this world only to become a target from a psychopath who is out for revenge. He takes another step closer to her and when he pulls her against him, she doesn't fight him this time.

She wraps her arms tightly around his neck while she buries her face in the crook between his neck and shoulder. He kisses the top of her head while wrapping his arms protectively and tightly around her petite waist. "Nothing going to happen to any of us." He whispers into her ear, "I promise you, I won't let you or this child get hurt."

"And you?" She asks as a single tear leaks out of her left eye, "What about you?"

"Oh come on," He rolls his eyes, "if I could survive the wrath of Ryan Hardy when he found out we were dating, I could take on anything and anyone."

Max laughs and simply shakes her head, "I love you."

"Love you too, Max." He pulls back slightly so he could press a gentle kiss on her forehead. He looks down at her and his eyes search hers for a moment before he sighs, "There is actually something I wanted to ask you tonight, but I guess right now is a good time."

She looks at him with a raised eyebrow as she cocks her head slightly to the side, "And what's that?"

"Well," He shifts his position uncomfortably, "I've been wanting to do this for a while now, but I wasn't sure if it was the best time…" _Okay, this is going to be harder than I thought._

She breaks their embrace and instead takes his hand in hers and pulls him towards the couch. She sits down, but he remains standing up. "Mike, what's up? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine!" He says way too quickly, so he clears his throat and repeats, "I'm fine." His hand digs into his jean pocket and his fingers play with the small box. "A few nights ago when we were in our apartment and you were sleeping in my arms, I realized something. I was watching you sleep and – I want to always have you in my arms. I love you, Max and, well… okay, here goes nothing."

"What are you talking abo-" Before she could finish her sentence, she watches him drop down on one knee and pull out a small, velvet box out of his pocket. She stares into his eyes and she has never seen so much love in one man's eyes before.

"Max Hardy, will you marry me?" Mike Weston asks with a nervous smile as he opens the box, exposing the sparkling diamond ring. Her hands immediately shoot up to cover her mouth that's hanging wide open as her eyes grow wide.

Her being speechless is an understatement. She honestly doesn't know what to say. She loves him and now that she's pregnant… they could actually have a family; a real family, together. They deserve some happiness and it's about time they get it. It's time they have a brighter future and what better way to start down the road then having a wedding?

She sucks in a deep breath when she sees the doubt start to spread across his face. She debates in her head whether this is a good decision or not. Wouldn't this make them an even bigger target to whatever followers that were still left? She goes over the pros and cons in her head, but one simply thought runs through her head that outweighs everything: _I love him._

"Yes." She whispers and for a moment, he thought he heard her wrong or he was just hearing things. She smiles at him and nods her head, "Yes, I'll marry you."

His eyes light up at her answer and he doesn't waste a second before sprinting to his feet and pulling her into a tight hug. He slams his lips against her own and both of them are so lost in the kiss that neither of them realizes Ryan standing in the doorway.

Only when they hear the bags of food drop to the floor they both pull apart and turn to face the steaming man. His eyebrows are furrowed together and the two of them can see the veins in his forehead pop out. "Did I miss something?"

Max and Mike both share the same expression that clearly reads: _Oh, shit._

"You're both getting married?" Ryan slowly asks as he walks towards his niece and best friend, passing by the food that has already been long forgotten. "Did I hear that right?"

"Ryan," Max says as she takes a small step forward, "I know what you're about to say, but-"

"You're both young and do you realize the kind of target you'll both be if you both have a wedding? That will surely grasp everybody's attention." He says with a shake to the head. "Are you both thinking this clearly?"

"Yes, we are." Mike speaks up now, "Listen, you're my best friend, Ryan. You know what kind of guy I am and you know I won't hurt her. I'll always protect her. I love her, man. I have been thinking about this for a while now and I want to do this and it would mean a lot if you supported this without fighting us."

"I know you're still hurting, even after all this time, about what Claire did to you. I understand, Ryan, but Mike and I… we're different. We both want this and it would mean so much if you, as my Uncle who has always been there for me and looked out for me, are okay with this. Please?" Max says as she walks right up to her Uncle and looks into his eyes with a pleading look.

Ryan glances over Max's shoulder to glare at Mike and then he looks back down at his niece, "Okay." He sighs heavily and shrugs one shoulder, "Alright, I'm okay with it." He walks over to Mike and adds with a warning tone lingering in his voice, "If you hurt her, despite the fact that you're my best friend, I'll kill you."

"Don't sweat it, Ryan, I already remember the overprotective death threat you gave me two years ago when you found out about us." Mike jokes, but when Ryan remains a dead serious glare on his face, Mike's grin vanishes and he nods his head sharply, "Got it."

"So, how about we go out to dinner instead?" Ryan asks after taking a glimpse over at the food that's scattered on the floor by the door.

"Sounds good." Max smiles, but then she remembers the other piece of news her Uncle should know now before he somehow ends up finding out himself. "Oh! One more thing we have to tell you before we go."

"Max-!" Mike tries to warn her, but it's too late. She gives her Ryan a guilty, but hopeful, that he won't explode, look, "I'm pregnant."

Silence.

The apartment falls into deep, deadly silence as they all exchange different looks. The blank look on Ryan's face makes Max and Mike nervous to be around him right now. The steam can almost be seen coming out of his ears as his blood begins boiling inside of him. Them dating, getting married, hell, even _sleeping_ together he was okay with, but Mike getting his _niece_ pregnant? Nope. Not okay with that.

"Ryan, before you-" Max tries to calm him down when she senses him about to go off, but he tunes her out. "Wait-!" _Damn._

The next thing they all know, Ryan spins around and punches Mike square in the face.


	2. All I Need

**I'm back with another Maxton one-shot! Hope you all enjoyed the last one, thank you all so very much for reading and for your wonderful reviews! :) I love the prompts you're all giving me, some really amazing ideas! I'll definitely start working on them. :)**

**This prompt is: _Fan of Maxton- _**_"... one where she thought Mike was dead after Mark hit him with the wood?" _**I hope you enjoy it and this is what you were hoping for. :3  
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_**Please comment/review, it would mean so much to let me know what you think of it, thanks! **_**Thank you all for reading! Please enjoy! :D**

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

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"_All I Need_"

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Max would give anything in the world to forget this day ever happened. It has been such a draining day – for all of them. Day was filled with so much excitement and so much has happened and after all of it, the only thing Max Hardy wants to do is crawl into bed and sleep for days.

The brunette sighs heavily as she drags her tired body into her apartment and to her couch. She doesn't waste another moment before dropping her tired, aching body onto her couch, not even bothering to strip off her jacket or take off her shoes.

Despite how tired she is, her mind is wide-awake as the events of today replay once more in her head. She takes slow, deep breathes in order to try to get a hold on her emotions, but it's to no avail.

It's finally over. The madness all ended today when Luke Gray died, Claire Matthews was saved, and Joe Carroll was finally arrested. No more followers, no more cults. They were all finally able to move on in their lives and not have to deal with anymore mind games and massacres.

The corners of Max's lips curve upwards into a small smile as she thinks about that brief moment her and Mike Weston shared together when the chaos ended. He _finally_ kissed her and that kiss keeps replaying repeatedly in her mind. She has been waiting such a long time for him to finally kiss her and sure enough, he did. It took him long enough, but nevertheless, he did it.

The kiss was perfect – _he_ was perfect. Never did she imagine she would be falling for him, especially the way they started off. When she first met him, she couldn't stand the sight of him. She didn't want to work with him, she didn't want to even lay eyes on him. And now… all she wants to do is _be _with him. Kiss him. Hold him. Love him.

She lifts her hand up to run it through her hair, but she stops herself once her eyes land on her red-stained fingertips. Her heart sinks to her stomach and she automatically feels herself ready to throw up. Her bright cerulean eyes remain fixated on the red that stains her fingers and the horrifying moment repeats in her head as she relives it.

She thought he was dead. When she saw Mike lying down on the floor, perfectly still, she thought the twins killed him. She ran to his side, the tears already forming in her eyes, as she drops to her knees beside his body and checks to see if he's alive. The fear ran through her body as her heart pounded in her chest and when he didn't move, she slightly began to cry. Her fingers brushed gently against the wound on his forehead where blood was oozing out of and she felt, at that moment, her world collapsed. The second he moved and showed her he was alive, she was finally able to breathe.

The bloodstain on her fingers makes her relive that fearful moment when she truly thought the twins killed him. She clenches her jaw and squeezes her eyes shut, wanting desperately to forget that.

Then, her mind drifts to Luke Gray. She killed him. Of course, she's glad he is dead, but Max never really liked the idea of taking one's life. Although she's a detective and knows how to use a gun, she always preferred working with computers and hacking into systems for the FBI or for the NYPD.

Max stretches her arm to reach her cell phone and she curls into a small ball whiling lying on her couch. She sighs as she types in her password quickly with her thumbs and she immediately goes to her picture gallery. She scrolls through some pictures until she finds the one she specifically wants. She clicks on it and the picture opens up, taking up her entire screen.

The picture is of her, Mike, and Ryan; the three of them out to dinner. She took the picture a few days ago when Ryan treated them both to dinner after another hectic day. They were all actually laughing and having a decent conversation that didn't involve Joe Carroll and his endless followers and she wanted to savor the moment.

Taking a deep breath, Max zooms into the picture and her heart practically melts when she has a close up of Mike Weston. She stares at his smiling face in the picture and without even realizing it, a single tear slides down her cheek. _He could have died today._ Her eyes remain glued to Mike's wide smile that shows off his straight, white teeth. _She would have never seen that smile again._

She needs to see him. When they were all in the car, Ryan told her that he and Mike were going back to his apartment and she was more than welcomed to join them, but she declined the offer. She told them she needed to shower and it's been a crazy day so she was going right to sleep. Now, as she lies on her couch, staring at a picture of Mike, the man she was falling in love with, she changes her mind.

Max sits up and begins dialing his number, but is shortly interrupted by a knock on her door. With a roll to the eyes and an annoyed huff, she drags herself to the front door, unlocks it, and then swings it wide open.

The detective is ready to yell at the person who dared bother her after such a long day, but when her eyes land on the Mike's face, all the annoyance and anger vanishes from her. She blinks her eyes, trying to figure out if he is really standing in front of her. "Mike." She breathes out, surely surprised at his sudden visit.

"Hey," He greets with a small smile, "hope you don't mind me stopping by. I just, well, wanted to make sure you were okay. You know, after everything that happened today and when Ryan dropped you off here, you seemed a bit… uneasy."

"Oh, it's fine, come in." Max says as she steps aside so he could enter. She closes the door behind him and then turns to face him while running a shaky hand through her hair. "I was actually about to call you."

"Oh? Were you now?" Mike flashes her a childish grin as he takes a step closer to her, making them only inches apart. He missed her. As he stares into her bright, crystal blue eyes, he senses something off with her. His eyebrows furrow together as he lifts one hand and strokes her cheek gently with his thumb, "Hey, are you okay?"

She opens her mouth to say she's fine, but she can't manage to get the lie out. Her shoulders slump forward and a heavy, tired sigh escapes her lips. "No," The wound on his forehead brings the terrifying memory alive once more, making her only seconds away from throwing up, "no, I'm not okay."

Mike doesn't hesitate before pulling her petite body tightly in his arms. He rests his chin on top of her head and keeps his arms firmly around her waist. Neither one of them say anything, they just hold one another as if their lives depended on it.

"I thought you were dead." She mutters into his chest, "When I saw you lying on the floor, not moving… I got so scared."

His arms subconsciously tighten around her even more at the mention of the events today and the twins. He closes his eyes and kisses the top of her head as he remembers that moment alone with the twins perfectly clear. He was positive that they were going to kill him when he told them he was the one who killed their mother, not Ryan. Max came to his rescue, though.

Instead of saying anything to try to sooth her, he lets her get everything off her chest. He wants to know how she's feeling after what went on today and then once he knows, they could help each other get through it.

She doesn't look up at him – it was almost as if she was scared to see his reaction. "I saw the blood pouring down your head and that wound on your forehead… I thought… I thought I lost you. I – I just fell down to my knees by your side and I couldn't stop the tears. I felt as if someone just sliced my heart into two broken pieces. I was so scared."

Mike can feel his shirt get wet and he knows instantly that she is finally letting the tears go. He remembers how when he came to, her face was the first thing he saw and the panic that was washed over her face. He pulls away from her and she looks up at him, confused. He doesn't say anything, he just takes her hand in his and leads her over to the couch. The two of them sit down and she immediately curls up against him as his arm wraps around her.

"I killed Luke." She continues in a shaky voice, "I shot him multiple times. I – I lost it. I thought you were dead and all I knew was that I wanted him dead. I killed him. I killed a person…"

The agent knows exactly what she is doing: she's blaming herself; she's letting the guilt eat at her for taking someone's life, even if it was a criminal. He shakes his head as his eyebrows furrow together in confusion, "Max, how could you possibly be blaming yourself?" She stays quiet, no longer trusting her voice. He takes his hand, places it under her chin, and then he turns her face so she is forced to look at him. "Max, if you didn't shoot him when you did, I would be dead."

"Mike-" She goes to protest against his words, but he stops her, "You saved my life, Max. They would have had no problem killing the man who killed their mother, but you came just in time. You're not some monster who killed someone in cold blood. You shot someone in order to protect someone else. You honestly have no idea how grateful I am to you."

"After everything that's happened… if I would have lost you now, when it was finally near the end, I don't know what I would have done… what I would do." Max whispers as she looks down at their joint hands.

He smiles down at her and when she looks up to meet his eyes, she can see why she is falling in love with him. He's a good, caring man, and he's not perfect, but close. "I promise you, I'm not going anywhere." He brings his hand to her face, wiping away her tears, and then leaning over to press a gentle kiss to her forehead.

Max smiles at his words and nods her head, "Good." She brings her lips to his as both of her hands move so they are cupping his face. He lays her down on the couch and climbs over her, keeping their lips locked at all times.

This whole crisis is going to take some time getting over, but it's finally over. It's going to be hard for them to move on and it's going to be a long road back to getting their lives back together, but at least they have each other, and for right now, that's all they need.


	3. Shadows in the Rain

**Hello again, so, here's the next chapter to "Never Too Late". I really hope you enjoy this one-shot! I appreciate you reading; please enjoy! :) And thank you all so much for reading/reviewing the last two chapters, it means so much! :D Most likely the next one-shot coming up will be Mike catching Max in a towel! ;)  
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**Oh! I also just wanted to let you guys know that these one-shots I write aren't only going to be Post- Season Two. There'll be AU's, moments during Season Two, and moments after Season Two. :3**

**This prompt is: _GracieRose643_\- **_"...Could be a fic in Ryan could be walking out of his room and he hears Max pressuring Mike to talk about his grief then they start yelling at each other and Ryan hear a glass shatter and the door slam and he could walk out seeing Max upset and a broken glass cup then it starts to get dark and it's raining and they go look for Mike and they find crying at his dads grave and emotional mike could be talking to the grave and Max could go and talk to him..."_** I hope you like it. :)  
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_**Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it; all opinions are greatly welcomed, thanks!**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

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"_Shadows in the Rain_"

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Ryan turns the water off as he steps out of the shower. He reaches over to grab the waiting towel off the toilet and wraps it tightly around his waist. He runs a tired hand over his face then through his hair before turning to look at himself in the mirror.

When he looks into the mirror, he could have sworn he saw Joe looking back at him with the same satanic smirk plastered on his face. Ryan gasps as he jumps a step back. He shakes his head and squeezes his eyes shut and when he reopens them, he sees himself in the mirror.

He takes a deep breath before opening the bathroom door and walking into the hallway as he heads back to his room to change. When he steps out of the bathroom and enters the hallway, he could hear Max and Mike talk and he already knows that his niece is trying to get Mike to open up. He also already knows Mike doesn't want to and won't talk about what transpired tonight.

The older man simply shakes his head; his heart goes out to Mike. He knows the amount of excruciating pain there is when dealing with the lost of a family member, especially when they were murdered.

Max probably won't be able to get him to open up, but if there was going to be _any_ chance of Mike actually letting out everything he is feeling, Max is their best shot. She can connect with him better than anyone else, but Ryan hopes it doesn't backfire.

Letting out another heavy sigh, Ryan turns and enters his bedroom, hoping his niece will be able to comfort the grieving man.

* * *

She is well aware of the fact that she told Mike that he didn't need to talk about it and instead the two of them could just sit there, in her Uncle's living room, in silence. The thing is, she lied. Well, she didn't mean to, she just, sort of, did.

The young detective understands completely how Mike Weston is feeling right now. He's in pain – he is heartbroken and full of sorrow and anger. He is full of revenge and he is drowning in guilt. He is blaming himself for this and truth be told, it isn't his fault.

"Mike," She decides to break the everlasting silence that in reality is louder than a bomb going off, "I know I said that we could just sit here then, but-"

"I still don't wanna talk, Max." Mike says with an expressionless face, but his voice is bitter. "I don't wanna talk about it."

Max sighs and shakes her head; she can't let this go. "I know, but at some point you will need to talk about what Lily Gray did."

"What Lily Gray did?" He shouts the woman's name with pure hatred as venom spills out of his mouth, "She killed my dad! Her and her psychotic twins sliced my father's throat and let him bleed to death! I know exactly what she did and I don't need to talk about it."

Mike is standing now, pacing the living room back and forth as the anger boils inside him and the rage swims through his veins. Max slowly stands up, "You're grieving and the best way to handle that is to ta-"

"I don't need you to tell me how to grieve, Max! I can handle this on my own!" He shouts, his voice coming off harsher than he intended on. He turns his back to her as he picks up his beer that he left on the coffee table.

Oh, she wasn't letting him off that easy.

"You _can't_ handle this on your own, Mike!" She folds her arms across her chest and sighs, "Listen, you're hurting and I just want to help you get through this. Lily Gray will pay and-"

"Damn it!" He screams as he spins around and throws the beer bottle across the room. As the bottle cuts through the air, it misses Max's head by an inch and smashes against the wall behind her.

A gasp escapes her parted lips as she shields her head with her arms. Her eyes linger on the shards of glass on the floor for a few moments before she hesitantly looks back up at the grieving agent. She stares at him, fear sparkling in her ocean blue eyes.

He is breathing heavily and he could see the fear on her face – she's _scared_ of _him_. He feels his heart sink to his stomach at the thought of her being scared of him. He's supposed to be the one protecting her and making her feel safe, not the one causing the fear.

Mike shakes his head and takes a clumsy step backwards, almost falling over when he sits the chair. He opens his mouth to say something – to _apologize_, but his voice betrays him as the words are stuck in his throat. He can feel the tears forming as they threaten to spill and only one thought crosses his mind: _he has to get out of there._

He swallows hard and walks backwards until he reaches the door, his eyes never leaving hers. He could see the pain swimming in her eyes and he can feel the guilt explode inside of him. His mouth opens once more, but instead of saying anything, he spins around, opens the door with shaky hands, and runs out of the apartment.

Before Max has the chance to go after him, Ryan comes running out of his bedroom with a fearful expression on his face. He runs directly to his niece and places both hands on her shoulders, trying to get her eyes to focus on him, but they're glued to the door where Mike once stood merely seconds ago.

"Max," Ryan says her name firmly, "Max, what happened?" He watches her use all the strength inside of her to force her eyes away from the door and look back at him. She blinks, not even realizing he is talking to her.

"Are you hurt?" He asks when he quickly glances over at the broken pieces of glass on the floor, right by her feet. "Max?"

She shakes her head, pulling herself out of her thoughts. "What?" She is too focused on Mike to even concentrate on her Uncle right now. "I… I have to go after him." She tries to move passed Ryan, but he holds her firmly in one spot. She narrows her eyes at him and growls, "Ryan, let me go! I need to go after him!"

"I need to know what happened and if you're okay first." He says as his eyes search her face; he's trying to read her. "Max, talk to me."

"He – I – I don't know, Ryan! We were sitting there, I was trying to pressure him into opening up, and he just – just exploded! He thinks he could handle all of this on his own, but he can't! You and I both know that."

Ryan glances over her shoulder to look out the window at the pouring rain. There is supposed to be a storm tonight; the weather suits tonight's events perfectly.

"Please," She almost cries, "you need to help me find him. He's not himself."

He takes a moment before nodding his head sharply at her, "Alright. Take your phone with you and we'll both search separately. Call me if you find him and I'll do the same."

"Okay," She says as she starts for the door, but before she leaves, she turns to look at her Uncle with a smile, "and thanks."

"Be safe." He calls out to her, but she's already out the door and gone. He lets out a sigh as he grabs an umbrella, and then he walks out the door.

* * *

The rain is coming down hard as lightning flashes through the thick, grey rain clouds. Thunder roars throughout the dark sky, waking up anyone who is trying to sleep in the early hours of New York City.

The rain feels like knives as it comes pouring down on Max Hardy. She pulls her coat tighter around herself as she walks down the streets. She forgot her keys to her car and she wasn't going to waste any more time going back to get him, so, she's on foot as she looks for Mike, who could be anywhere.

The weather is harsh against her skin; the wind uses all its force to try to push the young detective backwards and the cold sends shivers down her spine. As blows on her hands to try to warm them up, but it's to no avail. She shakes as she forces her soaking wet body to take another step.

_Where the hell did you go, Mike?_ She asks herself in her head as she lets out a frustrated huff. She runs her fingers through her drenched hair as she freezes her movements. She looks around, watching people rush passed her, eager to find shelter so they could escape the rain, and she watches the cars fly through the streets while slowly traffic forms.

_Where would he go…?_ She bites down on her lip as she thinks of the millions of places he could be at this moment. Suddenly, she gets an idea. She doesn't waste another second before grabbing a cab and telling them her destination.

* * *

Max steps out of the cab, throwing him the right amount of cash, and then shutting the door behind her. She watches the cab driver drive away and then disappear into the bitterness and darkness of the night.

She walks passed the open gate and into the large cemetery that is deserted, due to the oncoming storm. However, she has a hunch that it isn't _fully_ deserted; nope, one certain FBI agent is definitely here.

Max walks through the cemetery until her eyes finally land on Mike, who is on his knees in front of a grave. Her heart breaks. She takes out her cell phone and quickly texts him that she found Mike before putting her phone back in her jacket pocket and heading over to the broken man. She could vaguely hear him mumbling words to his father's tombstone that his father will never hear.

He could hear her footsteps, even over the thunder and the rain. He doesn't bother to look up at her, instead, he keeps his eyes fixated on the gun in his hands. His tears are mixing with the rain and his voice cracks when he whispers, "Max, go away."

"No." She replies as she walks up right behind him, but she comes to an abrupt stop when she notices the weapon in Mike's hands. She looks down at him while he kneels beside the grave where his father will be buried tomorrow morning. "I'm not leaving you."

"I don't need you here, Max!" He cries out as he tightens his hold on the gun. "I want to be left alone."

She shrugs one shoulder as she kneels down beside him. She looks at him and says with a small shake to the head, "Well, that's too damn bad." She isn't leaving him. She isn't going to let him take his life because of Lily Gray.

His eyes slowly rise to read the engravings that are on the tombstone, "My dad's dead." It feels like someone is tugging at his heart, watching it shatter into a million of pieces. "It's my fault."

"It's not your fault, Mike!" She says, desperate for him to listen to her, "It's that bitch's fault and her sick, twisted mind games! She is going to pay for this, but you are just letting her win if you take your own life. You're letting her win by blaming yourself for this."

"My mother is heartbroken. My brothers blame my profession and me for this. It's my fault I got involved in this Joe Carroll/Lily Gray madness and it's my damn fault my father got caught in the crossfire!" He finally looks up at her as he cries out, "She was doing this to punish me. Just like she had you taken hostage and she was going to have you killed in order to punish Ryan. I should have saved him. I should have protected my family!"

"Don't you get it, Mike? She would have found some way to hurt you, to get back at you. Nothing was going to get in her way. She would have killed anyone she could get her hands on in order to punish you. She wasn't going to give you the chance to save them! She would have killed one of your brothers, your mother… some old friend of yours… she wouldn't have given up." Tears escape her own eyes as she whispers, "It's not your fault. You're not to blame in all of this."

"I miss him." He cries as he turns the gun so it's pressed against his chest, "I just want this all to be over. I can't… I - I –" His voice breaks off as Max takes this as her chance to slide the gun out of his hand and throw it to the side.

Max wraps her arms around Mike and holds him tightly against her as she whispers soothing words in his ear. He holds on to her as he cries into her shoulder, neither one of them paying any attention to the rain pouring down around them. They're just two empty shadows in the pouring rain.

"It's going to be okay." She whispers to him as she kisses the side of his head, "You're going to be okay, I promise."

He cries into her and she's there to comfort him. He's grieving and he needs someone to lean on, and there Max is, always there for him.

When Max no longer feels the rain pouring down on her, she looks up to see her Uncle standing there with an umbrella over their heads. She smiles sadly at him as she continues to hold Mike while he sobs into the gap where her shoulder and neck meet.

Ryan only nods his head as he places a comforting hand on Mike's shoulder as he holds the umbrella over their heads while he and Max console and comfort the grieving man.


	4. The Tables Have Turned

**Hi guys, hope you're all having a lovely day today. I want to thank you all who has been, not only supporting me, but this story; I really appreciate it so, so much. I'm going to _try_ to update every day, but just keep in mind, no guarantees. Thank you all so much for reading/reviewing the last chapter, glad you enjoyed it and thank you all for your wonderful, kind words, they are really appreciated and they certainly brightened my day by reading them.**

**I just want to say the Following before I get on with the one-shot:**

**_GracieRose643_: I'm really glad I did an okay job with your prompt and since it's your idea originally, once your computer is fixed, feel free to rewrite it, okay? :)  
**

**This prompt is: Anna- **_"_..._As for my prompt... Mike catching Max in a towel oh how the tables have turned!..."_ **And this prompt is: SarahJ676- **_"Mike catching Max in a towel..." _**Thank you guys greatly for the ideas, hope you enjoy!**

**I also wanted to address: _Guest_ who wrote a review saying, **_"It's funny how right after Wonder Squint began her series of unrelated Maxton pieces, so did you. Strange. She has nothing to worry about though. There's no competition here. But decent effort on your part." _**I just wanted to let you know, those weren't my intentions. I enjoy writing Maxton fanfics and instead of making all these short one-shots different stories, I put it like this. You're right, there is no competition because _Wonder Squint _is an excellent writer and I, myself, read _and_ review _Wonder Squint_'s stories. So, don't accuse someone of something without knowing the facts. I got the idea from a few reviewers and I, myself, thought it was a good idea. I shouldn't have updated my series of one-shots right after _Wonder Squint_'s, but I did. No intentional. I didn't even realize it. I see it as more Maxton fanfics, the better, but whatever. I already apologized to _Wonder Squint_. I had ideas in mind, but haven't had the chance to upload them due to me taking SAT's, finals, and preparing for my Regents. Not that I really have to explain myself because there has been plenty of times where more than one author on a fandom did series of unrelated one-shots, but whatever. Now, have a nice day and I apologize if this made you upset; etc.**

**Now, on a happy note, guys! xD Thank you for reading, please enjoy! :) (Sorry for this long Author's Note.)**

_**Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it; it would mean so much to me, thank you! :3**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_The Tables Have Turned_"

**. . .**

The sweat slowly drips down Mike Weston's forehead, sliding down the sides of his head. His breathing is still quick, but it is slowly dying down to a regular pace. He lifts his hand that is holding a cool water bottle and he brings it to his lips. He takes a long sip, finishing the bottle, and when he's done, he wipes his forehead with the back of his hand, ridding the sweat.

His muscles ache, especially when he moves his limbs, and he feels sticky. His tank top is damp from his sweat and the rest of his skin is coated in a layer of sweat. He takes a long, deep breath and as he does, the only thing entering his mind is that he desperately needs a long, cold shower.

It's early in the morning and the FBI agent has the entire day off from work, considering what happened two days prior, the major event when Joe Carroll was finally arrested. However, deciding to take advantage of his day off, early in the morning, before the sun has even awoken, he decided to head to the gym.

Mike digs into his jacket pocket and pulls out a set of keys. He searches for the right one before putting the key into the lock and twisting it to the right. He looks down at his watch, which reads 9:45 A.M.

_Ryan should already be at work. Guess I have the place to myself._ He sighs as he enters Ryan Hardy's apartment. Ever since his father died, he has been staying in the guest room of Ryan's apartment, but now that the madness is over with Lily Gray and Joe Carroll and all of their insane followers, he is starting to look for a new apartment in New York City.

When he walks inside the apartment, he is looking down at his phone. He shuts the door behind him and when he looks up, he sees a sight he was certainly _not_ expecting. He blinks his eyes in surprise as he questions in practical shock, "Max?"

In one quick and startled movement, Max spins around and gasps, dropping her towel in the process, which leaves her body complete exposed. Too stunned to even move or react, the two of them simply blink at each other, neither moving a muscle.

Mike knows that he should cover his eyes and turn around, but his eyes are glued to her naked body and his body is frozen in place. He opens his mouth to say something, but instead of words, a childish grin captures his face.

Max, on the other hand, doesn't find it so amusing. She reaches down, grabbing her towel, and quickly wraps it around her petite body. Her eyes shift from her now covered body to Mike's smiling face and she tries to remain serious as she grabs a pillow off the couch and throws it at her boyfriend, but her own smile can't help, but tug on her lips. "It's not funny!"

She is embarrassed and Mike could tell by the way a deep, crimson color forms on her cheeks. He, however, thinks it's quite funny and ironic. He also can't help, but think how adorable she is when she acts shy.

"Oh, come on!" He laughs as he folds his arms neatly across his chest and leans against the wall, "On my defense, you already saw me naked so the tables have finally turned around."

She rolls her eyes at him, "Oh, and what? We're 'even' now?" She can still clearly picture that brief moment when she walked in on Mike in a towel perfectly in her head. Wasn't a bad sight, truth being told, but she was still embarrassed.

"_Well_…" He begins, but when she eyes him a deadly, warning glare, he shuts his mouth. She could still see the smirk that he is trying to hold back, to no avail. He raises an eyebrow at her, "Hey, what are you doing here anyways?"

Max sucks in a deep breath as she tries to push the thought of her being in the same room as her boyfriend, him in a tank top and shorts and her simply in a towel, out of her head. "I came by this morning to see Ryan, to see how he was holding up and maybe have some breakfast with him, but during our conversation he got a call. He needed to go, but he told me he would be back shortly so make myself at home and wait here for him. You were already gone, so, I took the opportunity to take a shower since I didn't get a chance to take one last night or this morning." She then cocks her head to the side with a raised eyebrow, "My guess is that you went to the gym? Considering you're all sweaty and in shorts and a tank top when it's kinda freezing out."

He smiles, "Yeah, I went to the gym this morning." He starts walking over to her and stops when he is directly in front of her. His fingers brush against her hand and she only feels herself blush more. "Sorry about walking in on you, I honestly thought I'd come back to an empty apartment."

She doesn't respond right away. She searches his eyes and she could see a glimpse of excitement and lust roaming in his eyes; she doesn't see any guilt or any regret. She sees a look of desire. A look of love. She only shakes her head, a tiny smile forming on her perfect lips, "You're not sorry!" The laugh that escapes her is playful and he can't help, but chuckle. She's right and there's no sense in denying it.

"Yeah," He nonchalantly shrugs, "I'm not."

Mike leans down to capture her lips in a desirable kiss, his hands gently caressing her waist. The two of them smile in the kiss, but when it begins to get heated, she places both hands on his chest and slightly pushes him a few inches back.

He looks down at her, confused, but the smile is still gracefully on her face. "You need to take a shower before anything else. Like, now. You're all sweaty."

A chuckle escapes his mouth as he nods his head, "Alright, alright, I'm going." He turns around to head towards the bathroom, but he stops in his tracks, turning back to look at her. The grin once again on his face as he innocently asks, "When should Ryan be back again?"

Max shrugs, "Uh, don't know. Maybe like in an hour or two? Why?"

"I don't know, I think there won't be a problem with you taking two showers this morning, right? I mean, I think it would be a lot more fun if I had someone to keep me company in the shower…" His voice trails off and he could automatically see her own excitement and eagerness sparkling in her bright, ocean blue eyes.

Instead of answering him, she smirks at him as she rushes passed him and into the bathroom. He raises an eyebrow as he watches her fly right by him and he could hear the shower water already running.

It doesn't take him long to quicken up his pace and follow her steps into the bathroom and into the shower.


	5. This Moment

**Hi everyone! Here's the next one-shot, which I think actually came out pretty good. xD Hopefully, anyways, haha. Hope you enjoy, thanks for reading! And thank you all so much for reviewing/reading the last chapter, really appreciate it! :D You guys are amazing! :)**

**This prompt is: _SarahJ676_: **_"...Ryan goes over to Max's house for breakfast and finds an unexpected guest sleeping in her bed while she's taking a shower and Ryan finds out how long this has been going on..." _**Hope you enjoy!****  
**

_**Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it, I would really appreciate it, thank you so much! :D**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_This Moment_"

**. . .**

A soft moan escapes passed her lips as her mind slowly stops dreaming and she comes back to reality. Her eyes are squeezed shut as she subconsciously protests, wanting to hold onto as much sleep as she possibly can after the worn out day they all had yesterday.

Despite having the whole Joe Carroll fiasco over and done with for a few months now, the hard, tiring work is never over for a detective or a FBI agent.

Max turns around as she is in the borderline of dreaming still and waking up. As she twists her body around to lie on her opposite side, her face slams into something hard.

Immediately her sapphire eyes snap open and her body jumps up into a sitting position. She looks down, pushing a piece of her hair behind her ear as her eyes land on _his_ face. "Oh God…" She mutters under her breath and she can practically hear her heart hammering in her chest, louder than a thunderstorm.

She blinks as he stirs silently in his sleep. She swallows hard as she slowly draws her legs up to her chest… and that is when she realized she is naked. In her bed. With Mike Weston sleeping soundly next to her.

The young brunette wraps her arms around her knees, hugging them close to her chest as she tries desperately to remember what occurred last night. She wasn't drunk, but the previous night was drawing blank to her.

"Max…" Mike moans her name quietly as he stirs slightly in his sleep. She holds her breath for a moment, believing his crystal blue eyes will stare up at her at any second, but thankfully – and slightly to her disappointment – he remains asleep.

Her eyes become fixated on his face; he looks so different while asleep than awake, he looks innocent. She can't help the smile that tugs at her mouth as she watches her boyfriend dream beside her, all the stress and worry drained from his features.

The urge stirs inside her to just extend her hand, raking her fingers gently over his stubble on his cheeks; to comb through his short, smooth hair. She feels her stomach turn as her eyes lower and rest upon his chest, watching it simply rise and fall.

The blanket goes up to his hip, which leaves the rest of his upper body completely exposed to her desirable eyes. She allows her eyes to scan over his chest and only when they come across the wound on his abdomen does she remember last night's event.

* * *

_Max anxiously waits outside in the cold weather while pacing back and forth as she chews on the nail of her thumb. She tries to steady her breathing, but the nerves racking through her insides, bumping through her veins, is keeping her anything, but calm._

_Just when they thought the nightmare was finally over, the universe decides to prove them wrong. No, because giving them all a break was just too much to ask, apparently._

_Special Agent Clarke tries to place a gentle hand on Max's shoulder, but she shrugs it off and continues to pace. He sighs, "Detective, you need to relax. I suggest-"_

"_I'm not going anywhere." She practically growls as she shoots an icy glare his way, "I'm staying right here and going to help any way possible. Now, where is that damn back-up?!"_

_Agent Clarke narrows his eyes at her, his eyebrows furrowing together. He clears his throat and gives her a warning look, "What do you believe will be accomplished if you continue to pace back and forth? That won't help the situation or change things. You need to stand aside and let the FBI do its job."_

_That hits a nerve. She raises an eyebrow while her eyes grow wide. "Excuse me?" They would need much more than the FBI to pray her away from her spot in front of the restaurant. She repeats in a more stern voice, "I'm not going anywhere. My Uncle and my…" She stops herself, pausing for a brief moment to gather her words, "friend… are in there. I'll be damned if you think you could get me to leave. I will leave once I know Ryan and Mike are okay."_

"_The FBI is going everything they can-" The Agent tries again, but she stops him with a humorless laugh, "Everything they can? How the hell do these 'followers' keep escaping your custody or keep appearing out of absolutely nowhere?"_

_It's true – even though Joe Carroll is locked away in prison for the remaining of his life, there are still loyal followers, out there in the world hiding, that still want to spread the word of Joe. Even though Joe has given up and surrendered, the last few of his followers haven't yet._

_Ryan, Mike, and Max were eating Chinese food at Ryan's apartment that afternoon until Ryan got a call from the FBI. They informed him that four of Joe's followers gathered in a restaurant and they were holding hostages. Three of them with knives, one with a gun._

_When the three of them arrived at the scene, arriving seconds before the FBI, Mike and Ryan both told Max to wait there as they looked for another way in, considering the front doors of the restaurant was locked._

_The cameras in the restaurant are down; Max already tried everything to get them back up, but to no avail. Plus, the blinds are down, preventing them from seeing what's going on inside._

_Now, Max, along with the rest of the FBI, waits outside, eager for updates and praying this ends they way they hope._

_It is at least a half an hour before they finally hear commotion go on inside of the restaurant. Piercing screams that are filled with panic erupt inside, mixed with three gunshots._

_Max feels her heart sink to her stomach and she feels the wind be knocked out of her. Fear plagues her eyes as she stares at the door, waiting desperately for the doors to open and Mike and her Uncle come out, unharmed._

_Her hands begin to shake and she is so lost in her own fears and thoughts that she is oblivious to the FBI agents breaking through the glass windows and entering that way._

_The next few moments pass by in a blur for the detective. She sees people jump through the broken windows and she watches other people push the door open, escaping that way. Tears pour down their faces as their faces symbolize the true definition of fear. They're screaming and shaking, blood stains on most of them, as they rush out onto the streets, disappearing into the growing crowd that is piling itself around the scene._

_When neither Mike nor Ryan exit the restaurant, she feels the air get stuck in her throat. She shakes her head and doesn't waste another second before darting into the place, ignoring the agents shouting her name. She needs to make sure they're both alright – that they aren't…_

_She rushes inside and immediately her eyes connect with her Uncle's. A sigh of relief escapes passed her mouth at the sight of her unharmed relative. "Thank God." She breathes as she walks over to him and wraps her arms tightly around his neck. She could see in the corner of her eye the four followers, lying lifelessly on the floor._

_Only as Max shifts her head as Ryan tightens the embrace does her eyes connect with Mike. The color is drained from her face as she sees him, lying on the floor with a paramedic on each side of him. She spots the blood that is soaking through his shirt and immediately she feels like the world has been turned upside down._

_Pushing Ryan to the side, she breaks the embrace and runs to Mike's side. She drops to her knees beside him, her hands caressing his cheeks gently, as if he would break if she touched him too hard or the wrong way._

_The tears come to her eyes when his crystal hues look up at her. She opens her mouth to say something, but he beats her to it. "I'm fine." She rolls her eyes – of course, he would say that. He always says that when he's hurt; always trying to not make it a big deal when in reality, it is. He shakes his head as he slowly sits up with the help from one of the paramedics._

"_No, really, I am." He offers her a small, reassuring smile, "One of the followers aimed their gun at a mother who was clinging onto her child and I pushed them out of the way. Ryan shot the follower at the same time and the bullet just grazed my side, that's all. Nothing life threatening, I promise."_

"_I'll take you back to my apartment, Mike." Ryan cuts into the conversation, but Max shakes her head, determination shining in her eyes as she already makes up her mind. "No, he's coming back to my apartment. I'll take the couch, he'll take my bed. No arguments, I don't want to hear it. You both wanted to ignore me and come running in here without back-up, fine. I let you make that decision and now I'm making this one."_

_Mike and Ryan both try to open their mouths to protest, but she cuts them both off in an annoyed, deadly tone, "Don't even dare."_

_Of course, Mike secretly knows why Max is making this decision. She wants to watch over him, make sure he's okay. They've been dating for a few months now and after an eventful evening like this, she wants to be with him alone. Then, naturally, Ryan is still completely in the dark about their relationship._

* * *

She closes her eyes as she begins gathering her thoughts. She was so worried about him; she thought she was going to lose him for a second. He tried to assure her that he was fine and it was only a graze, but she was still scared.

If she ever lost her Uncle or Mike… she honestly wouldn't know what to do.

* * *

"_Max, this really isn't necessary." Mike tries to tell Max as she helps him inside her apartment with his arm over her shoulder along with most of his weight leaning on her. "I could walk perfectly fine."_

_She rolls her eyes and chooses to ignore his statement. "You're taking the bed." He opens his mouth to speak, but she stops him there. "Don't even try to convince me otherwise."_

_The two of them make it into her bedroom and she gently eases him down on the bed. She smiles down at him as she raises a questioning eyebrow, "Need anything?"_

"_Just you." Mike breathes out without even thinking. He stares up at her and admires her true beauty. He is way passed falling in love with her. He is in love with her. And after watching today's event, the worry interrupting her perfect features, he knows she feels the same way about him._

_Mike laces his fingers through hers and he gently tugs her down on the bed with him. She lies on top of him while trying her best to avoid his wound, and their lips meet in a heated kiss. Their lips move in sync as the amount of passion that is put into the kiss is equal._

_Her hands grow lost in his hair as his arms tightly wrap around her waist. Neither one of them pay attention as their clothes slowly shed off and disregard onto the floor somewhere. Their tongues dance around one another and smiles grace their features at the same time while pleasurable moans manage to escape their mouths._

_Their bodies join together that night and their minds drift away, allowing them forget everything and everyone that night except each other._

* * *

"Regretting last night?" Mike asks in a sleepy, but sexy voice. Her eyes snap open and immediately they connect with Mike's. He smiles at her as his hand reaches out to draw meaningless patterns on the back of her hand.

The corners of her mouth curve upwards, "Not a chance."

"Good." He grins, "Because neither did I."

Max leans down to press a soft kiss against his lips, but before things could grow into something more or get heated between them, her phone begins to vibrate. She groans and reluctantly pulls away. She extends her arm to snatch her cell phone off the nightstand and she reads the text.

"Everything okay?" Mike asks with a raised eyebrow as he watches her roll her eyes. She tosses her phone somewhere on the bed and turns to face with him with a sigh, "Work."

He nods understandably, "You need to go in?"

"Yeah, but it shouldn't be a whole day thing. I'm going to go take a quick shower. Don't hurt yourself, if you need anything, I'll be right out." She kisses his lips quickly before hopping out of bed, adding before leaving to the bathroom, "Make yourself at home."

He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath once he hears the shower water begin to run. He still can't believe they made love to one another last night. A grin is plastered on his face as he memorizes that moment they shared together. The way she felt when he caressed her body, the way she they moved perfectly against each other, the way she moaned his name, the way they both expressed their love.

Mike Weston loves her.

He will never in his life forget that moment they shared together last night. Although the sex was incredible, it wasn't all about the sex. What the meaning behind the sex is what makes the smile form on his lips. He wants to have a life with her. He knows what now and he could only hope she feels the same way.

The agent thinks about going back to sleep or maybe watch some T.V., but he doesn't have time to make the decision before there is a loud knock on the door. He sighs as he goes to sit up, but immediately winces when he does. Although the bullet just grazed his skin, it doesn't mean he wasn't in any pain or wasn't sore.

Figuring whoever it was would go away or maybe they were just the mailman or something, Mike shrugs it off and flicks on the television. He raises the volume to tune everything out as he looks for something to watch.

A few moments go by after the knock and slowly Mike is dozing off as the NEWS channel talks about the event that occurred last night at the restaurant. With the volume near its maximum and the shower still running, he doesn't hear the front door open and close or the footsteps approaching the bedroom.

Only when he hears _his_ voice, does the color drain from Mike's face and his stomach twists into a nervous, guilty knot.

"What the hell did I miss?" Ryan asks and Mike can easily hear the restrain in the older man's voice. _Oh yeah, Ryan certainly wants to flip out._

"Ryan." Mike says his friend's name cautiously, "How did you get inside? Wait… that was you knocking on the door a few minutes ago?"

"Yeah," Ryan sharply nods his head as he stands perfectly still in the doorway of Max's bedroom, "that was me. Neither of you were answering and I wanted to check in on the two of you; maybe have some breakfast. I have a key to her apartment and this… this is not what I was expecting to walk in on."

"Listen –" Mike tries to explain because from Ryan's point of view, it does _not_ look good. Mike, lying in Max's bed, naked… not good.

However, Ryan stops him there, "Since when?" Ryan Hardy is anything, but stupid. He saw the connection his niece and friend shared, but never did he think _this_ would happen. He never thought they _actually_ got together.

"Since the day Joe Carroll was finally arrested. The day we were finally allowed to get our lives back." Max says, already showered and changed. She folds her arms across her chest as she leans against the wall, a perfect distance to look between her Uncle and her boyfriend.

"And neither of you bothered to tell me?" Ryan asks with a raised eyebrow as he shrugs one shoulder, "All these months?" He then sends an icy glare at his partner, "And you had sex with my niece?"

"We're not children, Ryan. We don't need your approval." Mike says with narrowed eyes; he immediately feels as if he has to defend their relationship. "We could make our own decisions."

"No, you're not." The other man says, but his eyes shift to Max's as he adds, "But you should have told me. It's still not safe, not with Mark somewhere out there, wanting revenge on the two of you. I mean, do you honestly believe that this is safe?"

Max throws her arms up in the air with a humorless chuckle following suit, "Are you kidding? I am tired of not being able to live my life. It's not fair, to any of us! Mark will come when he does and when he actually does, that won't make a difference if Mike and I are together or not. He knows the three of us are close so with Mike and I dating… that doesn't change much."

Her Uncle sighs as he pinches the bridge of his nose, "Max –"

"No, Ryan." She says, her eyes now pleading. She wants him to accept this – to accept _them_. She's all she has left and she just needs him to support her. "Please? Mike and I… after _everything_, we deserve some happiness. We…" She looks over at Mike and then back at her Uncle with a small smile on her face, "we love each other."

"I won't let anything happen to her, I promise." Mike says sincerely. "I care about her, a lot, Ryan."

Max walks over to her Uncle and offers him a sad smile, "We all deserve some happiness. What Claire did to you… that was horrible, but you'll find someone, just like Mike and I found each other, okay? I – I really need your support on this. Please, Ryan?"

"You should have told me." He says, but he then glances between his partner and his niece and a sigh leaves his lips, "But if you're both happy together… just – just be careful."

"Thank you." Max smiles as she pulls Ryan into a tight hug. He kisses the side of her head and when they pull apart, he offers her a kind, genuine smile. He approves of Mike, she knows that, and that only makes the smile on her face grow even more.

"I'm going to stop by and get some bagels and coffee." Ryan says as heads for the door, "Be back in a few minutes."

Max and Mike both nod their heads as they watch Ryan exit the bedroom and once they hear the front door open and shut, the two of them let out sighs of relief.

"I thought he was going to kill you." Max says with a small chuckle as she sits on the edge of the bed. She smiles down at Mike as he wraps an arm around her waist, gently pulling her down so she is lying beside him, cuddled against his body.

"Yeah, but hey, it would have been worth it." He grins, but then he looks down at his still naked body, "But I should probably get dressed before he returns, otherwise, he might just kill me once you head off to work."

"True." She presses a soft kiss to his bare chest and two small kisses on his jaw. "I love you. I hope you know that."

"I love you, too, Max." Mike whispers as he brings his mouth down, capturing hers in a lustful and passionate kiss.

As the kiss grows more hungry and passionate, Max breaks the kiss, to both of their dismay. "Mm," She hums happily, "I would love to continue this, but Ryan will seriously kill you and lock me up in a basement somewhere if we don't get you dressed. I'm actually surprised he didn't shoot you for having sex with me."

Mike only chuckles as he nods his head, knowing full well once Ryan gets him alone, the threats will be spilling out of the older man's mouth. Instead, Mike raises an eyebrow at his girlfriend, "Help me in the shower? Just a quick one before he gets back?"

Max nods her head and begins helping Mike out of bed and to the bathroom. Of course, once she got him in the shower, he somehow manages her to "take another one", which she has no objections.

They were there for each other, through the dark times and through the hard times. They had each others backs. They're a team; a perfect team.

And Mike knows now in that moment without a doubt in his mind that she certainly does feel the same way about him and they will share a future together.


	6. Permanent

**Hi everyone, so sorry it's been a while since an update. Long story short, about a year and a half ago I had a nerve tumor removed from my arm and now recently my arm's been hurting and apparently there's scar tissue leaning against the nerve... etc. so it's been a bit hard to type and all. I promise I'll try to update more, but no guarantee. Thank you guys for being so patient though! Appreciate it! :)**

**Thank you all so much for reviewing and reading this story, I greatly appreciate it and I hope you continue to enjoy! I'm not entirely sure which prompt is next, don't hold me to it, but mostly likely either Jealous Mike is up next... ;)**

**This prompt is: _Guest_:** _"...I wonder what death threats Ryan have Mike when he found out Mike was dating Max?..." _**and _Fa_**_**n of Maxton**_**: **_"...Can we do one where they kissed on the finale..." _**Hope you like it!**

_**Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it; it would mean a lot, thank you!**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_Permanent_"

**. . .**

"I'm not as good as you think I am." Mike says to her quietly as he searches her eyes, trying to figure out why she hasn't left his side. After everything – after everything _he_ has _done_… why hasn't she wiped her hands with him and walked the other way?

Max looks up at him, her eyes lingering on the gash near his eye a second too long. She sucks in a deep breath and barely shrugs her shoulder as she whispers with a crooked smile, "I never thought you were perfect." It's true. She knows he is _far_ from perfect, but she honestly wouldn't want him any other way. What's a person that has no flaws?

He stares at her face, thanking God every second that she made it out of this alive. If he would have lost her today… He shakes his head, not even wanting to think about what could have happened. He would be fine if he were killed, hell, even if _Ryan_ were killed, but Max? That simple thought sends a painful shiver down his back.

When she playfully smiles up at him, his eyebrows slowly furrow together. After all the time they have spent together, why hasn't he seen it before? Why hasn't he _realized_ it before? He's falling for her. He tilts his head slightly to the side as he gently bends his head and only pauses his movements when his lips are inches from hers.

He could hear his own heart pounding in his chest while his lips got closer and closer to Max's. He can hear her heart mirroring his own heart's action as well. He pauses only for a second, their lips brushing against one another, only to make sure she wants this too and when she makes no movements to protest, he captures her lips with his own.

Their lips move simultaneously against each other and neither one of them wanted this moment to end. It felt so right. They were both right where they wanted to belong and as the kiss continued, Mike's only major regret is waiting this long to kiss her.

A few seconds into the kiss and to both of their dismays, they pulled apart from the kiss. As much as they wanted to continue it, they can't allow their kiss to get too heated – they are still in front of all their colleagues and Ryan Hardy should be around here somewhere.

When they break apart the kiss, his eyes open instantly, only to see she still has her eyes closed. The corners of his lips curve upwards into a warm smile as he takes the second to admire her soft, graceful features.

He sees the small smile on her face, but when her crystal blue eyes open and they connect with his, it changes. That small smile forms into a full, wide smile that exposes her straight, pearl white teeth.

Her fingers subconsciously laces with his and she gently tilts her head slowly. Her eyes search his eyes, trying to find even a small ounce of regret, but she finds none. She bites down on her bottom lip and giggles, "Finally."

Mike laughs, "What? What do you mean '_finally_'?" Somewhere deep inside him, he had an idea of what she meant by that, but still, he wants to hear it exactly from _her_. He doesn't want any false hope.

Max pushes a piece of her hair behind her ear and out of her face as she takes another step towards him; their chests now touching. She glances down at their joint hands before they slowly glide up back to his face. "I… well, I've actually been waiting for some time now for you to make the first move."

"Is that so?" Well, now he just feels like an idiot. He has been having these feelings towards her for a while now, but quite honestly, he wasn't sure _she_ felt the same way, considering they didn't really get off on the right foot.

She could feel the blush creeping its way onto her cheeks, but she tries to ignore it. He makes her nervous and she doesn't know why. _Yeah, it's because she has feelings for him and doesn't want to do anything to screw it up and make her look like an idiot._

"Yeah." She breathes out with another shrug, "But to tell you the truth, if you wouldn't have kissed me now this is all finally over with, I would have either killed you, or actually made the first move."

He smiles dumbly at her for just a brief moment before his eyebrows knit together and he frowns, "Wait, why kill me?"

When she laughs, he practically feels his knees go weak. It sounds stupid, he knows that, but he would do _anything_ to hear her laugh. Her laugh – so graceful and warmhearted; so beautiful and genuine.

While they are holding hands with one hand, she uses her free arm to wrap around his neck; her fingers playing with the small hairs on his neck. She smiles and playfully rolls her eyes, "Oh, I don't know. Maybe for being an idiot for waiting _this_ long?"

The Agent simply rolls his sapphire hues at her, but before he could comment back, her hand pulls him down and she presses her lips to his. They both smile into the kiss while both of her arms wrap around his neck loosely and his hands firmly grip onto her hips.

Max pulls her lips away when her lungs beg for oxygen, but she rests her forehead against his. Her smiles matches his and the sparkle that shines in his eyes matches hers. The two of them stare at one another, not daring to say a word, scared to interrupt this beautiful moment, but she has to ask him one question that could change everything between the two of them.

"So," She asks, a bit out of breath, "what exactly… what does this make us?"

It didn't go unnoticed to Mike how she slightly hesitated; almost _afraid_ of his answer. He keeps one hand on her hip while he lifts one hand and brushes a loose piece of hair that covers part of her left eye out of her face. "Well –"

"I would like to know the answer of that question, too." Ryan cuts Mike off as he makes his way over to them with his hands shoved into his jacket pockets. Mike and Max don't make a move; they continue to stare at each other, almost believing if they say nothing and don't move, he'll go away.

However, that's not the case here.

Ryan shrugs his shoulders as he goes to stand right next to them, "Well?"

Max bites down on her bottom lip as she pulls away from Mike's embrace and faces her Uncle. Her and Mike's shoulders brush against one another and their hands are still joint together, Ryan notices.

"How'd it go with Claire? Where is she?" Max asks, trying to change the subject and turning the tables on her Uncle, but it doesn't work with him.

"She's fine." He says a bit too quickly and Mike and Max both see a flash of pain cross his features. He clears his throat and nods his head sharply, "She's safe."

Mike looks at his friend with confusion. This is finally over, why isn't Claire with him? Hell, she should practically be glued to his side at this given moment. "Where is she?"

"The FBI are getting ready to get her a flight so she could go be with her son." Ryan says at the same time as his eyes flicker to the ground. He licks his lips and adds rather quickly, almost hoping neither of them would near him, "Things didn't work out. She doesn't want to pursue it; things are over between us. The connection will always be there, but that's it."

Max frowns as she wraps her arms around his neck and pulls him into a tight embrace. She whispers in his ear, "I'm sorry."

He hugs her back, closing his eyes for a split second, before pulling away and offering her a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. It's better this way." His eyes then snap over Max's shoulder and connect with Mike's. "Now, care to explain what's going on between the two of you?"

"There's nothing to explain. We kissed." Mike pointy states with a shrug. He glances at Max, but she has her back to him as she faces her Uncle.

"I saw that." Ryan says as he looks back at his niece, "And now…?"

"And now we were figuring that out before you _rudely_ interrupted." Max says to her Uncle with a tiny smile. She isn't mad at him; he's just looking out for her and he is curious to see what relationship is forming between his only family member and his best friend.

"Do the two of you…" Ryan makes a weird hand gesture as he tries to find the right choice of words, "do you both have feelings for each… other?"

Before Mike has the chance to respond to that, Max beats him to it with a warning look plastered on her face, "And if we _did_, of course, you wouldn't have a problem with that, would you?"

The look on Max's face is a given invitation for Ryan to try to challenge her. She has her eyes squinted and her eyebrows furrowed together as she folds her arms neatly across her chest. Max warns. Ryan stares. Mike waits.

The three of them find themselves surrounded by a deafening sound of a long, painful silence. Ryan knew this wasn't a smart decision. He _knew_ that this could only give Mark Gray a chance to use one of them against each other.

Someone's biggest weakness is their love for someone.

Ryan Hardy knows that better than anyone does.

Despite every instinct inside of the older man to tell them how wrong and dangerous it would be to pursue this relationship, but surprisingly, he doesn't do that. He saw their growing bond from the beginning and he knew it was bound to happen that they would finally start a real relationship.

He closes his eyes and lets out a heavy sigh, "I wouldn't have a problem at all."

Mike's eyebrows rise to his hairline while Max simply smirks at her Uncle. She knows he wants to protest, say something about how wrong this decision is and what could happen, but he is respecting her wishes.

"Thank you." She whispers and then turns to Mike with a shy smile, "So, where does that leave us? Don't mean to put you on the spot, Mike, but –"

"I think we could take it one step at a time." He smiles down at her and she mirrors his actions. "I want to make it official, actually." He rubs the back of his neck nervously, "I care about you, a lot, and, well, Max Hardy, would you like to be my girlfriend?"

Ryan rolls his eyes and mutters under his breath to himself, "Talk about going fast and 'one step at a time'…"

Max simply shakes her head and ignores her Uncle's comment as she takes Mike's hand in hers and grins up at him, "I, Mike Weston, would be honored to be your girlfriend."

The beaming smile on the Agent's face couldn't get any bigger or more filled with excitement and joy. He wraps his arms around her waist, completely forgetting Ryan's presence, and bends his head. Right before he presses his lips to hers, he asks in a whisper, "Come on a date with me tonight?"

She grins, "I'd love to." She presses her lips against his, but the kiss doesn't last long before Ryan clears his throat loudly in order to grasp their attention.

They pull apart and Max looks over her shoulder at her Uncle with an annoyed expression, "What is it, Ryan?"

"Oh, don't stop on my account." Ryan shrugs a shoulder and puts his hands up in front of him. He cocks his head to the side and forces an obvious fake smile on his face, "When you're both done I just need to have a small chat with Mike." He then adds, clearly full of sarcasm, "But please! Take your time."

"Oh. My. God." Max breathes out and Mike chuckles. She shakes her head, "You wanna go see what my _lovely_ Uncle wants?"

Ryan walks over to the side and with a heavy sigh, Mike caresses her cheek and his eyes connecting with hers for a second, before he walks over to Ryan. Max, in the meantime, goes to check on the news of Joe and find out about the beginning search of Mark Gray.

"What's up?" Mike tries to ask nonchalantly. He just wants to get this conversation over with so he could go back to Max.

Ryan stares at him; his face completely expressionless. His stare burns into Mike's eyes and if looks could kill… he'd be long dead. They were friends – partners –, but when it comes to Ryan's niece, it doesn't matter who you are. You hurt her, you die. Simple.

"Mike –" Ryan begins, but Mike raises a hand and silences him. "Ryan, I already know what you're going to say. This wasn't a 'spur in the moment kiss thing'. Okay? I genuinely care for her; I have been for a while now."

"She's my niece." Ryan says quietly. "She's all I have left and if something were to happen to her…"

"I get it. I really do, Ryan. I honestly don't know what I would do without her. You're protective over her, I understand that, but I'm not going to hurt her. I would rather put a bullet to my head than hurt her."

The older man shakes his head as he looks down at the ground, "That's not it. I know you wouldn't intentionally hurt her, but she could get hurt from this." He looks back up at Mike with a heavy, tired sigh, "Mark will come back. That's a promise. He'll want revenge and he will have no problem using Max as leverage against you. I just want her safe."

"So do I." Mike offers Ryan a friendly, reassuring smile, "I want to make this thing between us permanent and I'm willing to make that happen. I'll protect her and care for her, Ryan. You know me."

He nods sharply, "I do know you. That's why I am going to tell you this as simple and friendly as possible." He pauses for a second as he gathers his thoughts in his head. His voice comes out calm, quiet, and threatening. "If you hurt her, physically or emotionally, if I _ever_ hear from her that you hurt her in any way possible… I will have no hesitation to put my gun to your forehead and pull the trigger. Understand?"

Mike's mouth opens, but it closes just as fast. Instead, he nods his head and salutes his friend, "Got it."

"Good." He smirks, "You're my friend, Mike. We've been through a hell of a lot. Don't make me want to strangle you."

"Um, I'll keep that in mind?" Mike says more as a question than a statement. "Now, I'm going to check on Max. Coming?"

"Nah," Ryan runs a hand through his hair, "I'm going to make a quick phone call. I'll catch up with you guys in a bit."

Mike nods his head and begins to walk away, only to hear Ryan call out to him, "But if you two have sex, I'll kill you, Mike!"

Weston almost loses his balance and falls to the ground at Ryan's sudden comment. He spins around and throws his hands in the air, "Dude, seriously?" He shakes his head and continues to walk away, trying to forget that last remark.

Ryan shakes his head and chuckles. He was only joking… well, part of that statement was true, if he was going to be _completely_ honest.

As Mike reached his destination at Max's side, he kisses he side of her head and just by seeing that beautiful smile gracefully play on her lips, his question from before is answered.

She stayed by his side the entire time, after everything _he_ has _done _and she never wiped her hands with him and walked the other way simply because she's Max. There is no other explanation for it.

She is Max Hardy: a kind, caring, loving woman who puts others before her and looks out for them. She helps them. She's there for them – for _him_.

And he can't think of anyone else he would rather be with than her.


	7. Fancy Four-Letter Word

**Hi everyone! Thank you all so very much for reading the last chapter and this story. I greatly appreciate all of your lovely reviews and kind, encouraging words and amazing prompts! :) I know I said this chapter would be Jealous Mike and I _did_ start that one-shot, but I started this in one of my classes and I really wanted to update. Next one will most likely be Jealous Mike. :P**

**This prompt is: _Guest_:** "..._Maybe the first time they tell each other they love each other...?_" **I kno****w in your prompt it said a continuation of Permanent, and I guess in a way it is. Nevertheless, hope you enjoy! And thank you for the prompt, hope you like it! :)**

_**Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it, I really hope you guys like it! All opinions and prompts are welcomed! I really appreciate it, so much. Thanks! :D**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_Fancy Four-Letter Word_"

**. . .**

As Ryan enters Max's apartment, he is greeted with a very unexpected sight. The heavy grey smoke flies passed him as he opens the door to her apartment.

He waves his hand in front of his face in a failed attempt to push the smoke out of his face. A fit of violent coughs come immediately when he accidently inhales the smoke and he has to blink back the tears that have formed in his eyes as the smoke stings his crystal blue hues.

After making it through the cloud of smoke, he finally spots the person who is the cause of all the smoke, standing in the center of the kitchen with a frustrated expression plastered on her face. She has her arms folded across her chest while one hand holds a tight grip on a spatula. Her eyebrows are furrowed together as her eyes remain glued to – what looks to be – a cooking book.

Ryan stands there in silence as he scans over his niece's appearance. Her hair is pulled up into a loose ponytail with strands sticking out in different directions and pointing in different directions. Her neck down is covered in a thick layer of flour and broken eggs mixed with the eggshells. Grease and flour is scattered across her face and it hits her hairline. She looks a mess. And frustrated.

_Very_ frustrated.

Deciding to try to figure out what possibly could have happened here, he clears his throat, which catches Max's attention instantly.

Her head snaps up and her eyes widen in a mix of guilt and shock. She stares at him, not saying a word. She blinks her eyes and opens her mouth to speak – but instead she just closes her mouth and heavily sighs.

"Should I be scared to ask? Or should I just not ask at all?" Ryan chooses to be the one to start the conversation here. His eyes scan the kitchen and through the smoke, he could make out the flour covered stove, grease on the walls, and eggs on the ceiling along with bacon that seems to be stuck on the ceiling only by the mixture of the grease and syrup.

Max rolls her eyes and throws the spatula on the counter with a loud huff. She throws her arms in the air and groans, "I am _terrible_ in the kitchen!"

"Yeah, I could have told you that years ago." Ryan grins, but it quickly vanishes when she glares icily at him. "Hey, I thought we _all _knew that already. I still remember when you were young your father banned you from entering the kitchen."

A small smile hints its way on her lips at the slight mention of her father, then she looks around at the mess and her smile vanishes immediately. "Okay, well I was _hoping_ that after all of these _years_ I would have got _somewhat_ good! At least decent!"

"Max, why do you want to start cooking out of nowhere?" He then shrugs and adds, "Unless, of course, you _want _to burn down your apartment the same day as Mike's birthday."

Max leaves against the counter and shakes her head, "That's why I'm doing this. I wanted to do something special for Mike's birthday. I know I definitely couldn't cook dinner so I thought the three of us could go out, but I figured, 'oh, how hard could cooking breakfast be?' I was apparently wrong."

"Max, you do know Mike wouldn't and doesn't care if you could cook or not. You could have simply bought bagels, ate together, and he would be happy." Ryan says as he opens up the windows in the kitchen in an attempt to air out the smoky apartment.

"Maybe," Max sighs and adds quietly, "but it wouldn't be the same. I mean, I guess it would be, but I want to do something special – like cook. We have a lot to celebrate. It's his birthday, a month since the whole Joe Carroll problem is over, and our one month anniversary of being together as a couple and I wanted to show him how much I care about him through this stupid breakfast and –" She covers her face with her hands, "Oh God, I sound like some pathetic person, don't I?"

Ryan simply chuckles and puts his hand on her shoulder, looking her straight in the eyes, "You care about him and you wanted to make his favorite breakfast for him, I get it. It was a nice idea and I know he'd appreciate it. I think we all have a lot to celebrate and it's about time we get that chance to do so."

She smiles at her Uncle, "He's a great friend and an amazing boyfriend and that's why, well, during breakfast I was _planning_ on telling him – you know what, never mind." She shakes her head and starts walking into the living room, not daring to make eye contact with her Uncle.

"Telling him what?" Ryan presses as he follows her into the other room, "What were you going to just say?"

"Nothing!" She says too quickly, making her mentally curse at herself. "It's really nothing."

"Max." He says her name sternly as he cocks his head to the side and narrows his eyes, "Don't lie to me. What's going on? You were planning on telling him…? Come on, what were –" He stops himself midsentence. His face twists and his eyes become hard, "Are you… are you pregnant?"

She spins around in one quick movement to face Ryan with wide, panicked eyes, "What?! God, no! We've only been together for a month for Christ's sake!"

"Then what were you planning on telling him?" He throws his arms up in frustration, "Max –"

"That I love him!" She cries out, her hands flying to her mouth the second the words leave passed her lips.

The silence hangs thickly in the air as they stare at each other with blank expressions, neither of them daring to speak as her words continue to process in his head.

"What?"

She sighs when he finally manages to say something after moments of dead silence between the two of them. "Can we just change this topic, please?"

"You love him?" Ryan asks, ignoring her request. He folds his arms across his chest and raises a questioning eyebrow, "You haven't said it to each other yet?"

"No," She mumbles as she sits on the couch, "I don't want to rush into things with him, but I – I do love him and I want to pursue this relationship. I don't want to take things slow forever and I – I feel like it's time."

Before he has a chance to comment, she adds, "Mike should be here any minute actually. So, do you think you could come back in a few and we'll get an early dinner or something? Maybe hangout then go to dinner?"

As much as he wants to continue this conversation, he simply nods his head and heads for the door. She follows him out and before she shuts the door, he turns and asks, "What exactly do you plan on doing with your… breakfast?"

She rolls her eyes, "See you later." When she shuts the door, she slowly turns around and faces the destroyed kitchen.

She didn't answer him because she simply doesn't know the answer to that.

Max cringes when she looks at the mess, simply thinking as she approaches the kitchen: _Shit, I'm screwed._

* * *

Mike enters Max's apartment with a beaming smile on his face. From the second he woke up this morning, he couldn't wait to see Max's beautiful smile and her beautiful face. He couldn't wait to hold her, kiss her; be with her.

With his hands shoved in his jacket pockets, he walks further into his girlfriend's apartment until he reaches her kitchen. His smile slowly vanished as a gasp escapes from his mouth at the sight before his eyes.

Max knows he is standing there, staring at the mess of her kitchen, but she refuses to turn around. She keeps her back to him and freezes all her movements, hoping that if she doesn't move, he won't see her or this mess.

"Max," Mike begins slowly – looks like she was wrong – as he shakes his head, "what in God's name happened to your kitchen?"

Slowly – oh so _painfully_ slow – the brunette turns around to face her boyfriend with a guilty smile. "Um, surprise?" She has a sponge in her hand and she was attempting to clean up the mess before he got to her apartment. Looks like that didn't work out as planned, along with everything else this morning.

"Ooooh yeah," He drags out his words, "some surprise alright, babe."

She gently places the sponge on the kitchen counter and shrugs her shoulders, "I'll be simple in my explanation." She glances around the kitchen and then her eyes connect with his. "I tried to cook."

"Say no more." He puts up his hand, already knowing that when you mix Max and cooking together, there is only one outcome. And he's staring at that outcome now.

Max laughs as she rubs the back of her neck, "Yeah, I guess this was expected, huh?"

"You could say that." Mike shrugs a shoulder as he walks up to her, his fingers automatically lacing through hers.

"Happy Birthday, Mike." She whispers as she presses a gentle kiss on his lips. When she pulls away, she shakes her head, "I was _trying_ to cook you your favorite breakfast, but as you could see, your breakfast is on the ceiling." He opens his mouth, but she stops him, "Don't ask how." He then shuts his mouth with a crooked grin on his face.

Max runs a tired and sticky hand through her hair, "I'm sorry. I wanted this to be special for you and I wanted to surprise you with a really good breakfast and then the pan went on fire and it went downhill from there. I really wanted to make you have a good birthday and I probably ruined it with my failed attempt and I –"

"Thank you." Mike says, cutting her off as he presses a soft kiss to her forehead and then he pecks her lips quickly. He chuckles at the confused expression plastered on her face and he decides to elaborate on that. "I know you can't cook and just by you trying for me, I appreciate it. A lot, to be honest. You didn't have to do it, but Max, thank you for trying."

She simply smiles up at him, "You deserve to have a good birthday."

"Just by seeing your face, it's already the best birthday I have ever had." He strokes her cheek absentmindedly, "I'm glad I could spend it with you."

_If I doesn't tell him now, I'm isn't going to do it_, she tells herself as she stares up at his grinning face. While she holds his hand with one hand, she reaches her other hand up to rest on his stubble cheek. She bites down on her cheek.

She never felt like this before. With Chris, it wasn't serious in all honestly. The two of them threw around the "L" word around like it meant nothing and she doesn't want that with Mike. There's a difference though. With Mike… she actually, truly loves him.

_I do love him, don't I?_ She asks herself as he reaches up to press another kiss to his lips, this time more passionate and longer. She can feel the kiss begin to get too heated and as much as she wants to continue kiss him and have him hold her, she needs to do this first.

Gently and graciously, she pulls out of his embrace and nervously she crosses her arms. She chews on her bottom lip for a second, trying to gather the right words in her head first. She can't mess this up. She can't and she won't.

He tilts his head to the side and looks at her, confused. "Is everything okay, Max?"

"Yeah," She breathes out. Everything is okay, she's just… nervous. Very nervous and scared; she is scared to see how he is going to react and who knows if he even feels the same way? "I'm fine, I just… I just really have to tell you something."

"Okay," He says with a small, reassuring smile as he leans against the kitchen counter, "shoot."

She stares down at her fingers that nervously play with the sleeve of her shirt. "I'm not good at this." His eyebrows knit together; he is unsure of what she is implying, but he remains silent and waits for her to finish her thought. "I never really dated a lot, only Chris and that relationship shouldn't have even happened. That was a mistake. And this…"

"Are you trying to say this is a mistake? Us? We're a mistake?" He couldn't keep silent anymore, not when he feels her on the edge of breaking things off. _Oh, he couldn't be more wrong._

Her head shoots up and her eyes, wide as a deer in headlights, connect with his now impatient ones. "No! That's not what I'm trying to say! I – I am just trying to tell you that I am not good at relationships and I just… I don't want to mess this – _us_ – up!"

Weston shakes his head at his girlfriend, "I'm lost."

"This is all going wrong. So, _so_ wrong." She mutters under her breath as he runs a shaky hand through her knotty hair.

"Max, just tell me what's going on."

"Fine!" She huffs as she begins to lose patience with herself. _Why can't I just tell him without making everything so complicated?_

She closes her eyes and sighs. This isn't her. She's not usually so nervous and such a mess. This… this is just so hard. She doesn't want to lose the one person, besides Ryan, she deeply cares about.

_Here goes nothing,_ she mentally prays this goes well. "I… I love you, Mike." She wants to kick herself for the slight hesitation that showed in her voice. It's out there now, though, and now all she needs to do is wait for his reaction – for his reply.

She loves him. Max Hardy loves him. He was _not_ expecting her to say that. Nope, he was just expecting her to end things between them, not take the next step.

"You… love me?" Mike shakes his head. She can't possibly love him, can she? He has been slowly falling in love with her since the moment he met her; he knew that already. He loves everything about her and now that fancy four-letter word is in the air, hanging between them.

When Max slowly nods her head, confirming that she does, indeed, love him, he lets out a shaky breath. He could see the slight fear of rejection shining in her eyes and all he could do is now smile.

He grins like an idiot at her and before she could say another word to him, he has his mouth pressed against hers, hungrily kissing her. She doesn't protest and she isn't sure if this kiss is to confirm that he loves her too or maybe a goodbye kiss?

Her unspoken question is answered when he pulls his lips away from hers, his hands cupping her face, and he whispers quietly, "I love you too, Max."

That's all she needed to hear. The fear rolls off her shoulders and she pulls his head down to capture his lips once more.

However, as much as she would _love_ to continue to kiss him, she feels disgusting and probably looks it too. She needs a shower. And badly.

"I need to finish cleaning up and take a shower." She mumbles against his lips, "You could hang out here or go hang out with Ryan and I'll catch up in a bit."

"Well," He smiles against her lips, "I could maybe help you, you know, clean off all that flour off your body and all…" She smiles, but before she could comment, his stomach interrupts them by growling loudly. He sheepishly looks away with a small smile as he shrugs a shoulder, "Didn't have breakfast. Maybe a piece of toast before we clean up this place and head for a shower?"

Max smiles at him and right as she nods her head, her eyes widen and she sprints out of his embrace and to the other side of the kitchen. "Shit!" She dashes to the toaster that is now gathering up smoke as a piece of bread that is now totally black begins to catch fire.

Mike tries so hard to hold in his laughter, but he is fighting a losing battle. He bursts into a loud laugh as he shakes his head at her. She can't even cook a simple piece of toast.

"Oh Max…" He shakes his head, but just as he opens his mouth to make another comment about this whole kitchen incident, suddenly eggs fall from the ceiling and onto his head, the syrup following behind the eggs and coming down and spilling onto his head, slowly dripping down his face.

Now it's Max's turn to fall into a fit of laughs.


	8. Remembrance

**Hello everyone, how are you all doing? I am so, _so_ sorry for not updating sooner! I just, I don't know, didn't have the time and I also actually had a really hard time writing a few ideas I had. I just didn't like how they were coming out. Then I was re-watching Season 1 of _The Following_ and I randomly got this idea. Hopefully it's good and you all enjoy it. I do have a few other ideas in mind so updates hopefully shouldn't take as long as this one did. I do apologize again for that.**

**I do want to thank you all for reviewing and reading this story so far. Thank you for your support and thank you for still continuing to read. :)**

_**Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it, I would greatly appreciate it. All opinions, thoughts, suggestions, ideas, and feedback are welcomed and encouraged, thank you!**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_Remembrance_"

**. . .**

Agent Debra Marie Parker

Beloved Agent, Daughter, Sister – A Hero

1975 – 2013

Taken Too Soon, Will Always Be Remembered

In Our Hearts

Mike Weston stares with tired, glassy eyes at the script letters on the moss covered tombstone. His eyes lingering on the words before dropping his gaze to the dead flowers scattered around the grave.

_When was the last time somebody visited her grave?_ Mike thinks bitterly, his blue irises turning cold. The grass looking as if it hasn't been cut in a month mixed with growing weeds. The moss covers most of the tombstone, slowly beginning to cover the engraved words.

Kneeling down, he grabs the withered flowers in his left hand and carelessly tosses them behind him. He begins pulling the weeds, ripping the endlessly growing grass and weeds from its roots in the ground.

Once he cleared the area around the grave, he places a freshly blossomed bouquet of flowers on the moist ground in front of the tombstone, quietly whispering as he does so, "Happy Birthday, Parker." At least the flowers could bring some life to this dull atmosphere.

The storm clouds slowly begin to cave in, hiding the setting sun and dimming sky. The thunder rolls in, roaring loudly in the sky followed by flashes of lightning.

Mike closes his eyes and doesn't move, just kneels there in front of his old friend's grave. The wind pushes against his skin hard, the power behind it slightly sways his body. The pouring rain should be arriving momentarily.

The tears are so close to spilling down his cheeks, but he holds them back. He doesn't want to break. He doesn't want to give Joe Carroll the satisfaction of how, even two years later, he could still break him. He could still create so much pain and cause so much suffering.

"Damn him." He mutters under his breath as he slams a clenched fist to the ground. A silent tear slides down his cheek, only making it half way down his way before the cold air dries away the tear.

He welcomes the silence after that, his mind wondering to how unfair life was to Debra. She was a good person who only tried to help people. She tried to connect with them, save them. She suffered through so much growing up and then this. It's not fair. Life isn't fair.

"Ryan said you'd be here." Max's soft voice catches him off guard, her footsteps growing louder as she approaches him with each small step.

She walks up to him, standing behind his knelt body. Without saying a word, she kneels down right beside him, the palm of her hand immediately resting on top of his thigh. She looks straight into his eyes, her blue hues full of concern, connecting with his with the love and worry pouring out of them.

At first, Max doesn't say anything, allowing their eyes to do most of the talking. Ryan vaguely filled her in on most of the details that went on with him, Mike, and Debra, and plus, she heard a lot of the details with being a cop and on the news already.

Finally, in a quiet, almost unsure voice, she asks, "How are you holding up?"

Mike stares at her, not knowing exactly how to answer that question. How is he holding up? He doesn't even know the answer to that mystery of a question. Joe Carroll took away a good agent, a good woman, a good friend.

"Fine." He lies, his voice on the verge of cracking. He watches one of her eyebrows rise; she knows when is fine and when he is on his breaking point. "Okay, maybe I'm not fine."

The corner of her mouth curves upwards for a split second at that. She could see the glassy look in his eyes and a tear stained on his cheek. Did he really believe he would have been able to hide it from her? "I figured you wouldn't be. I also figured you shouldn't be alone."

She tears her eyes away from his, turning her gaze towards the fresh flowers leaning against the tombstone, "Blue Carnations."

"They were her favorite." He blurts out, remembering the afternoon where the two of them made a coffee run and they passed by a flower shop. She just randomly blurted that detail out when she spotted them in the window. "She told me one day and somehow I managed to remember that about her."

Max smiles, he did always have a good memory. He always remembered the small details about people and she liked that about him, a lot. "You two were close." It was more of a statement than a question. She could easily tell that by the way he is that the two of them were close.

"Yeah," He nods his head, swallowing hard, "yeah, we were." He glances up at her, the tears close to escaping. "I mean, we were just co-workers at first, but then, I don't know… we just grew close as we continued to work together."

The thunder echoes loudly throughout the sky, causing birds to scatter out of the trees and into the sky from the sudden sound. Light rain then begins to fall from the grey clouds.

"It's been two years, Max." Mike blinks his eyes and the tears instantly fall. He wipes his face with the back of his hand and shakes his head at her, "She's been gone for two years."

"She died a hero, Mike." She tries with a small smile, "The way she died was horrible… but she's a hero."

"I should have been able to protect her, Max!" He clenches his jaw, his blood beginning to boil inside of his veins. He's angry at himself, angry at Joe – angry at the _world_. He places his head in his hands, the tears becoming endless.

"Ryan and I promised her we would be able to get her out. We promised her we would save her and we failed her." He pulls at his hair and squeezes his eyes shut, "She was so scared, Max. She was so, so scared and she died alone in that damn coffin."

"Hey, are you seriously blaming yourself?" Her eyebrows are furrowed together, confusion spreading across her face. "It's Joe Carroll's fault. That's whose fault it is. Not yours or Ryan's."

Neither one of them say anymore after that. The silence that settles between them is almost deafening and Max is almost afraid he is going to shut her out completely.

Right before she could open her mouth to say something else about how it isn't his fault, he beats her to it. "We were too late."

She shakes her head, "Joe did that on purpose. He _wanted_ you both to find her just when it was too late to save her. He planned all of it. He wanted to hurt Ryan. There was nothing any of you could have done to prevent her death."

He places his hand on top of hers, his cold hand resting on top of her warmer one. He sighs, his eyes falling close once more as he whispers, "The image of her lifeless body inside that coffin haunts me all the time."

Seeing Debra, dead, inside that coffin, dirt covering her face, so _lifeless_ looking… the image is stuck in his head, embedded into his memory. The tears that stained her bruised cheeks, the bruises and cuts covering the rest of her body… he wanted to throw up the moment he and Ryan opened up the coffin.

"He buried her alive." He adds quietly, still, after _everything_ that has happened, he still just can't believe that. "He had her buried alive and he had her, terrified, alone, and he gave her a slow death. How… how could… I…" His voice trails off, his voice eventually breaking off as he chokes back a sob.

"Hey," She takes her hand and places it on his cheek, forcing him to turn his face and look at her, "hey, come here." She pulls him to her, his head falling in the crook of her neck. She holds him close to her, her arms tightly around his body.

"I… I don't get how someone could do something like that. He's not human. He's not." He cries into her shoulder and she lets him. He's been holding all of this in for two years now. It's time he lets it all out and she will be right there to comfort him, the same way she comforted him when his father died.

The rain begins to pick up, becoming heavy as it now pours down from the sky, hitting the ground in a rapid speed. They don't mind, though. The couple just holds each other in a tight embrace, pretending the rest of the world does not exist.

"We all wonder that." She mutters, thinking back to all the horrified things they all went through with Joe Carroll and Lily Gray. This cult nightmare seems to never have a dull moment – it seems no matter what they do, they always keep coming back, causing more destruction, more pain.

The two of them sit there for a while, letting the storm continue to pass as they watch the tombstone; Mike thinking back to the moments when Debra was alive, when she was so positive and so determined to take down this cult and find some sort of justice.

"You know," Max begins quietly, glancing at her boyfriend who sits beside her in the same position as she, legs crossed, "she could still be alive. In our memories, I mean."

"I've heard people say that before. Hell, I said that to people at funerals before. It's just… sometimes it's still just hard to wrap my head around the fact that she's gone. She was a good agent… she didn't deserve this."

"None of Joe's victims deserved what they got." The brunette sadly shrugs, "But you need to just remember how good of an agent and person she was and just keep her in your thoughts. Focus on the good she did and on the good memories."

He presses his knuckles to his lips, his brain racing with thoughts. Time to time Debra will come to his mind, entering his thoughts, and he _does_ try to remember the good memories. He doesn't want her to be forgotten.

"It just… it just gets to me how no one even visits her grave. She has no family. I mean, she has a younger sister, but she lives far away and they weren't really close. She barely had any friends, she mostly stayed buried in her work and not all of the co-workers enjoyed her company." Mike stares at Max, his mouth opening and closing, not knowing how what to say at this point, not knowing how to express what he's feeling. He's hurting.

"I feel like her death has already been forgotten. It's her birthday today and not one person bothered to come. She was alone all her life and now, even when she's dead, she's still alone."

She frowns at him, frowns at his _words_. Without knowing what else to say or do, she follows what her gut says to do. So, she takes her hand and she slaps it hard against his upper arm.

"Ah!" His hand shoots out to cover the spot where she hit him and where it is stinging in pain and he eyes her, "What the hell was that far?" Her smacking him certainly wasn't what he was expecting her to do.

"How the _hell_ could you say that?" Her icy blue eyes narrow at him. She folds her arms across her chest, an eyebrow raising as if daring him to say the wrong thing.

If looks could kill, he would definitely be in the grave next to Parker's.

"What do you mean? Ow, damn, Max, you couldn't have smacked me any harder?" He rubs his arm, his face falling in a look of concentration mixed with confusion as he tries to figure out what his girlfriend was talking about.

She rolls her eyes at him, "Really? How could you say even when she's dead, she's still alone?" She shakes her head, her voice going quiet and soft, "Look, Mike, I get that she doesn't have a lot of people surrounding her grave every day, but look around right now. Who do you see? You're here and I know for a fact that she is always in my Uncle's thoughts. He feels guilty too and he misses her just as you do."

Moving her body closer to Mike, she presses a gentle kiss on his cheek and smiles at him. "You were a good friend to her, Mike. And with you being right here on this day for her, it would mean the world to her."

He sadly looks at her, a tiny hint of a smile crossing his features. He sighs, knowing she's right. When isn't she? He places the palm of his hand on the back of her head and he brings his lips to hers, sharing a well needed, soft, but passionate, kiss.

He still feels like he is to blame, but the pain and all of the guilt that has been building up inside of him, overwhelming him, it feels as if part of that left him, not weighing him down as much.

"Thank you." He mumbles against her lips as they rest their foreheads together. "Really," He looks into her eyes and she could see how much love swims in them, the pain that was in them before now lessened, "thank you."

"Don't thank me. I'm always here and don't you forget it. Or I'll just have to smack some sense into you again." She grins at him as she stands up, doing her best to brushing off the mud and dirt off her soaked clothes.

Mike stands up beside her, a small chuckle climbing up his throat and escaping his mouth, "Ha, yeah, I don't think that'd be necessary."

"Good," She nods her head happily, then turning her gaze up at the sky, watching the rain fall from the sky, hitting against her face. She looks back at him, not knowing if he was ready to leave or not.

"Are you ready or you need more time?"

The Agent turns his head to glance down at the grave, reading over the engraved words a few more times. He takes a deep breath and finally, after a few moments of just standing there, getting soaked, in silence, he nods his head.

"I think I'm good." He tears his eyes away from the tombstone and takes Max's hand in his, "I'm good."

"Let's go, then." She smiles at him – her smile so contagious, so beautiful, he thinks.

Hand in hand, Mike and Max hurry back to their cars, the pain still there along with the guilt, but not as bad as before – not as bad as it has been for the last two years.

And when they leave the grave with Debra Parker's name embedded into the tombstone, the flowers never wither away because every week, Max would come by and replace them with fresh ones without Mike knowing.

But Mike knew and so did Ryan.

That week of Debra Parker's birthday, Ryan helped Max and Mike plan a gathering at Debra's grave, where all the FBI Agents, Cops, Detectives, and any friends Mike could find, came to play a small tribute to her.

A tribute to honor and remember Agent Debra Parker.


	9. Never Letting Go

**Hi everyone, how are you guys? So, I apologize in advance for another kinda sad chapter, I promise the next one is happy! I just felt like I had to write this. This is mostly a tribute to all who have known and lost someone who tragically died on 9/11. Today, thirteen years ago, a horrible terrorist attack was in Manhattan, New York on the Twin Towers and on the Pentagon. It was a tragic day and so many innocent lives were taken away that day. I ask you all to please, take a moment of your time just to give a moment of silence for remembrance for those people who died.**

**Thank you all so very much for all your constant support, for reviewing, following, favoriting, and, most importantly, reading. You guys are amazing, so really, thank you.**

_**Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it, I would greatly appreciate it. Opinions, thoughts, suggestions, prompts, and feedback are all welcomed and encouraged. Thank you!**_

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_Never Letting Go_"

**. . .**

A cold breeze hits Max hard, sending shivers down her spine. She shoves her hands further into her jacket pockets, her face remaining emotionless.

She bites down on her lower lip the second it begins to quiver and she mentally tells herself to hold everything back. Keep all her emotions locked away deep within herself. She is okay; at least, that is what she keeps telling herself. Her stomach twists in a painful knot as a specific horrifying memory plagues her mind, constantly reminding her of that day – of that one heartbreaking day where one's worst nightmare became her reality and now has become her history.

"_I'm okay." _Max tells herself once more in a failed attempt to convince herself. She seemed to manage to convince everyone else she was okay, expect herself.

Closing her eyes and squeezing them tightly shut, she repeats one more lame attempt to convince herself that she is okay and that she won't break – that she won't cry.

In that single, rare moment, in the perfect absence of any and all human sound, she could see the memory clearly before her closed eyelids; the sounds from the past roar in her ears.

* * *

"_But that's not fair! You're not being rational here at all!" A fourteen-year-old Max Hardy yelled the same time she violently crossed her arms over her chest._

_The older man had his back to her as he gathered his keys, phone, and wallet. He smiled and shook his head, "Okay, so, tell me, how exactly am I being unfair right now?"_

_She rolled her blue hues at him while a pout crossed her face, "Because you are not even considering the idea! It's not fair."_

"_What is there to consider?" He shrugged a shoulder as he shoved his wallet and cell phone into his jean pocket. "I already told you the answer is no. Case closed, discussion ended."_

"Dad!_" Max practically whined, "Why are you saying no? See! That's you not being fair."_

_Ray Hardy rubbed his face tiredly with the palms of his hands, "I am saying no because I am the father and you are the child. _And_, I already told you the reason. Be happy I didn't just say 'Because I Said So'."_

"_Well your reasoning isn't any better than that." Max mumbled to herself, plopping herself down to sit on one of the kitchen chairs as she glared at her father's back. "Come on, please?"_

"_Max," Ray whipped his head around, his sapphire irises turning a shade colder, "It's enough. You are not going. Now, go and get ready for school. You're going to be late."_

_He went back to collecting him things before he left for work. He could only hope it isn't another busy day at the firehouse; last night dragged on forever, one call after the other. Max, on the other hand, was not giving this up._

"_It's not like I'm missing much anyways." She tried again, "I would only miss one day at school! Please, dad? It's my favorite band and they rarely play in America; they're finally in Pennsylvania and I _really_ want to go. Besides, my friend already bought me my ticket!"_

"_That's good for your friend." Her father slid on his leather jacket and finally turned fully around to face his pleading daughter. "Tell your friend thank you, but no thank you."_

"_But I already told her you said yes!"_

_He raised a questioning eyebrow at that while a confused look crossed his face, "And that's my problem? No one ever told you to say yes for me."_

_Max pulled at her hair and huffed, "I can't believe you're saying no. You're the worst!"_

"_I'm sorry, but you're not missing a day of school on the first week. It's not going to happen. Now, I'm going to be late for work and you're going to be late for school. Go finish getting ready and let's go." _

"_Mom would have let me go if she were here." She mostly mumbled under her breath, but just about loud enough for her father to hear._

_He threw his arms up and shook his head, his lips pressed into a firm, straight line. Her mother isn't here; his wife isn't here. He felt a sting of pain erupt in his chest near his heart, but he kept his face expressionless. "Well, your mother isn't here. I'm in charge and what I say goes. Now, go, Max."_

"_Dad-" She didn't have a chance to finish before her father's clenched fist hit the countertop and his demanding tone cut her off, "I said, go get ready. Now!"_

_Max shook her head, and, as the tears stung at her eyes, she yelled, "I hate you!"_

_An almost deafening silence fell between them. Ray watched her storm off to her room to finish getting ready for school; he could faintly hear her bedroom door slam shut behind her._

_He pitched the bridge of his nose between his thumb and index finger and let out a heavy sigh. Max rarely gave him problems, but when she wanted something and he said no, it might as well be the end of the world._

_Ray then snatched his car keys from the counter and headed outside, deciding to wait for Max in the car instead and attempt to forget those three painful words his daughter just yelled at him._

_She didn't mean it, of course he knew that, but it doesn't make it any less painful to hear._

**-X-X-X-**

_Max rested her elbow on her desk and placed her cheek in the palm of her hand. She sighed while her eyes stared blankly at the black board, not paying much attention to the lesson._

_Every moment was dreading – the morning was going by so slowly and the only thing she could think about is those three words she said to her father. She overreacted. She was angry and now as she thought about it, she regrets those three cursed words. She never said that to her father before and he didn't deserve that. She was the one being unfair this morning._

_She needed to make this right. Her father and she have always been closed, sharing a tight bond. She needed to apologize._

_Quietly and _unnoticeably_, Max slid out her cell phone from her back pocket and quickly turns it on. Occasionally, she glanced up to make sure her teacher didn't see her. Thankfully, the teacher was too busy teaching the lesson._

_Just as her phone turned on, someone sitting behind her tapped her shoulder and she jumped. Her stomach twisted; she was scared that she would get caught. She really wasn't the type of child who did reckless things – she was the "worrywart", so to say._

_Slightly Max turned her head and raised an eyebrow, silently asking the girl what she wanted._

_The girl looked up at the teacher, who had her back turned to them, and she then turned back to Max. "Do you know today's date?"_

"_It's-" She didn't have a chance to finish her sentence before her teacher cut her off, "No talking, the two of you."_

"_I was just telling her what the date was." Max quietly muttered, her gaze fell immediately to her notebook. She was just glad her teacher didn't spot her phone in her lap._

"_Ask me, instead." Ms. Anderson gave the girl sitting behind Max a pointed look. She then picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the date clearly on top right of the board._

_It read:_ September 11, 2001.

* * *

A silent tear slides down her cheek as she snaps her eyes open, the memory so clear and fresh in her mind, although it happened, today, thirteen years ago.

Thirteen years ago that morning happened. Thirteen years ago the terrorist attack happened on the Twin Towers in New York. Thirteen years ago many lives were lost, including her father's life.

She violently whips the tears off her face with the back of her hand, mentally cursing at herself for allowing the tears to fall. She shakes her head and clenches her jaw, wanting to just forget that awful memory. It haunts her – Every. _Single_. Day.

"It's okay to cry, you know." Mike's soft voice erupts in her hears, soothing her just a tiny bit at the sound of his voice.

She doesn't turn around to face him, just keeps her eyes glued to the memorial site. She swallows hard around the thick, burning lump that has planted itself in the middle of her throat.

She feels his warm arm wrap around her shoulders, drawing her into his arms. He holds her petite body against his tightly, shielding her from the crisp fall air and the cold breeze that occasionally passes through and in a hopeful attempt to comfort his distressed girlfriend.

"You don't have to be strong today." He whispers into her ear, planting a gentle kiss on the top of her head. "Just let it out, okay?"

"I…" Her voice suddenly cuts off and she immediately buries her face into his chest. "I miss him."

"I know you do." Mike presses his lips once again to the top of his girlfriend's head. He looks out at the 9/11 memorial and he watches the people gather around it, remembering the horrifying day exactly thirteen years ago from today.

Mike places his finger under her chin and gently tilts her head up, forcing her crystal blue eyes to stare into his. He offers her a small, sad smile, "Your dad knew how much you loved him." Ryan told him the story of what Max said to her father right before the Twin Towers were attacked and the older man told him how devastated Max is when the 9/11 comes around each year, always thinking about that morning.

"And he loved you, too, Max." He adds quietly, his lips now pressing against her cold forehead.

She didn't need to say anything to that. She knows deep down in her heart that her father knew she didn't mean those words, but that doesn't change anything. That doesn't change the fact that those were the last words she said to her father right before he heroically died.

They communicate with words for a few moments. Time ticking by and neither one of them notice a single person passing by or staring at them. It's only them right now. He is standing there, being there for her and that means more to her than she could ever explain.

Max throws her arms around Mike's neck, pulling him into a tight embrace as his arms snake around her waist, keeping her close. She silently cries into his chest, soaking up his jacket and T-shirt with her body slightly trembling in his arms.

"I'm right here," He whispers to her, hating every second of having to see his girlfriend so devastated and broken. "I'm not leaving you." He could never make things right, but he would be there for her, especially now, when she needed him most. He already knows for a fact that he was never letting go.

She clenches onto him, scared that he would disappear in one given moment just like her father did. Her father disappeared that day and she never saw him again – only his burnt and crushed body. She can't afford to lose anyone else. She just… _can't_.

"_Daddy_…" She mutters, almost falling to her knees, but Mike holds her body up, knowing that deep down, she wouldn't want to fully break down on her knees in public.

"It's okay. It's going to be okay." Mike tells her over and over again, hoping she would believe him. The pain will always be there, but she constantly carries around the guilt like a mother carries around her child for nine months. It is always with her, the pain and the guilt, and it always haunts her, day and night.

They stay like that for a while, never moving from that spot. They stand in front of the memorial as Max cries and Mike simply holds her, whispering soothing words occasionally in her ear. Mostly telling her that it'll be okay, he's there for her, and that he loves her.

And, although Max doesn't see it, she could feel another set of arms wrap tightly around her. No one sees the man standing behind Max, a sad smile plastered across his face, as a single tear trails down his pale cheek.

Max turns her head slightly to glance over her shoulder, her eyes red and puffy from crying and her face stained with tears. Her eyebrows furrow together in confusion. She could have sworn she felt another presence behind her, as if they had their arms wrapped around her, comforting her in some sort of way.

Her eyes search the area, but she sees no one around. Mike then turns her head back so she is facing him, offering her a small, warm smile. She bites down on her lip and draws him into another tight hug with her eyes closed, but the tears never stopping.

_I miss you, so much. I love you_, Max silently says, her eyes gazing up at the cloudless sky.

Little did she know, Ray Hardy stands behind her, his arms wrapped around her, while saying the exact same words with a tear rolling down his cheek and landing on the top of her head.


	10. Down The Aisle We Walk

**Hey guys, how are you? Hope you all had a lovely summer. I'm back to school - Senior Year in High School, haha. So, I've been busy, but I haven't forgotten this story. I hope you all enjoyed the last chapter and these one-shots so far. Sorry the last one was a bit sad, but this one is a happier one, promise! :)**

**I really appreciate your lovely and encouraging reviews, I appreciate the follows and the favoriting, and I most importantly appreciate you all who are reading. You guys are amazing and are absolutely incredible - a real great support. So, thank you. :)**

**_Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it. It would mean an awful lot to me and it would be very appreciated. Thank you! Please feel free and do leave any prompts you have. All opinions, thoughts, feedback, and suggestions are welcomed and encouraged. Thanks!_**

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_Down The Aisle We Walk_"

**. . .**

Throwing her arms up in the air, Max Hardy lets out a loud, powerful and frustrated, huff. "That's it! I'm not doing this."

"You're doing this." Jenny Hardy tells her with a shake to the head, folding her arms neatly across her chest. "There's no backing out now; too late."

"Actually," Max turns around to face her Aunt, "it's _never_ too late."

Jenny chuckles, just thinking of how stubborn Max has been and most likely always will be. Just like her Uncle. Raising an eyebrow, she asks with a grin, "Oh, is that so? So, tell me, exactly, how do you plan on not doing this?"

"Simple," Max narrows her eyes, knowing her aunt is finding this funny, "I cancel this whole thing."

"And what about everyone out there who's been waiting and are extremely excited about today?" Jenny challenges her, knowing fully well she is not going to cancel today.

"Then let them be disappointed when they I tell them today is _off_."

"Now you listen to me, Maxine Hardy. I did _not_ come _all_ this way for _you_ to suddenly decide to _cancel_ your _wedding_!" Jenny's piercing eyes stare into Max's matching ones, her voice stern and demanding.

The young detective opens her mouth to protest, but Jenny beats her to it, "You _will_ put on that dress, let me finish doing your hair and make-up, and then you _will _march on out there and get married to the guy you are _hopelessly_ in love with. Understood?"

Jenny watches her niece's eyes drop to the floor, her face masked with a look she has never seen before on her niece. She watches her sit down with a heavy sigh on the chair in front of the white Victorian vanity. Her head falls into her hands and she falls into a deep, unsettling silence.

"Honey," Jenny walks over to Max and kneels down in front of her, "what's wrong?" While they were planning her weddings all these months, she seemed happy – _excited_. What could have changed over night?

"You… you still love him, don't you?" The older woman asks cautiously, almost afraid to hear her niece tell her otherwise. If she no longer loved Mike then…

Max's head shoots up from her hands, her icy irises looking at her aunt as if she just said the most offence, hurtful thing that could have been said to her. "What? Of course, I still love him. Why would you think that?"

Throwing her hands up in the air defensively, the blonde shakes her head, "Well, I don't know. I'm just trying to figure out what's bothering you and making you so upset all of a sudden."

She places her hand on Max's knee and softly says, "You were so excited yesterday. You couldn't wait for today to come and now it's finally here… why don't you tell me what's going on?"

She and her aunt have always had a close relationship; Jenny has _always_ been there for her. Despite her living in Boca, they always kept in touch and always stayed close. They may live on opposite coasts of the United States, they always had and always will have a good relationship. She knows she could trust her aunt and she needs to let it out. She's been holding this feeling in and it is about time she tells someone.

"It's just," She looks up into the older woman's eyes, biting down on her bottom lip, "_he's_ not here to walk me down the aisle and I'll be walking down by myself… it's just… it's just not the same."

A look of realization strikes Jenny's face, everything finally making sense to her. And she feels like a complete idiot for not thinking of it before. "Oh," She nods her head slowly, her eyes now full of understanding and concern, "oh, I understand now. You wish your father was here with you."

Max nods her head, wiping away the oncoming tears with the back of her hand, her mascara already running. Her father should be the one walking her down the aisle, handing her over to her husband. But he's not here.

"I miss him." She finally breathes out, her voice shaky as she comes on the verge of breaking down.

"Sweetheart," Jenny takes her thumb and wipes it under her niece's eyes, wiping away the tears and ruined, smudged makeup, "I miss him, too. Ray… he was a good man. An honorable, heroic man who died tragically. He loved you and there's not a doubt in my mind that he wouldn't be proud of you."

Tears come to Jenny's eyes as she thinks of her older brother. Oh, did she miss him. She sniffs and blinks her eyes, doing her best to keep her tears at bay. No need to upset Max even further. "He would be so happy right now for you. And he certainly would not want you to cancel your big day."

"But-" Before Max has a chance to finish what she was going to say, there's a soft knock on the door. Neither one of them have a chance to answer whoever knocked because the door opens and Ryan's head comes into view.

"Ryan!" Jenny shouts at him as she jumps to her feet to hurry to the door. She blocks his view of Max, keeping the door partly open with only his head able to get through. She narrows her eyes at him and raises an annoyed eyebrow, "What on Earth are you doing here? She's getting ready!"

Ryan raises his hands up defensively, a grin plastered on his face, "What? Everyone's ready and I just wanted to see how the bride was doing."

"Ryan," His sister's voice comes out rough, firm, and it sounds almost pleading if it didn't sound so demanding as well, "please, just go and give us a few more minutes."

"Why, what's-" He stops himself all of a sudden. His sapphire eyes narrowing as he examines his sister's face, closely. And when he does, behind the annoyed mask she wears proudly, he could see the tears shining in her eyes.

Something's wrong.

Knowing that, he ignores his sister's protests and pushes his way into the room, his eyes scanning the room frantically until they land on a distraught Max. Tears are streaming down her cheeks, her make-up looks closed to ruined, her hair is half done, and she is still in her robe.

"Max," He breathes out, worried, "what's wrong? What happened?" He hurries over to her and kneels down in front of her, one hand on her shoulder and the other on her knee. "What's going on?"

"Ryan," Jenny's soft voice comes from behind him, making him glance over his shoulder to look up at her, "think about what today is. How _special_ it is."

"I don't fol-" And his voice dies, the words never finishing their sentence. The pieces of the puzzle place themselves together almost immediately in his head and he all of a sudden feels a pain in his chest.

He looks back at his niece and shakes his head, "I'm sorry, Max. I know how much you would have wanted him to be here."

"But he's not here." Max's words come out harsher than she intended on them to come out. She stands up abruptly, storming to the other side of the room. She keeps her back to her aunt and uncle and she wraps her arms around her body in a fail attempt to comfort herself.

Jenny and Ryan both exchange a worried glance – their eyes connecting and immediately trying to come up with something to fix all of this. She is supposed to be happy, smiling, and being on her way to get married to Mike.

They have to do something to make this day still feel special, even if her dad can't be here.

Jenny then notices a familiar look cross Ryan's features – a look she has seen a lot, especially when they were children. She mouths to him, "What?"

Ryan grins at her and then walks over to Max, placing his hand on her shoulder. She doesn't turn around to look at him, but he softly says to her, "Your father may not be able to walk you down that aisle, but Max, I would be honored to."

Max spins around, her eyes wildly searching his face, wondering if he is really serious about that. "What… what about Mike? You're his Best Man. You can't."

"Uh, excuse me, but who am I again? I think I could handle being Mike's Best Man and walking my favorite niece down the aisle." Ryan smirks, one eyebrow raised at her.

She smiles at him, smiles at that childish look on her uncle's face. "I'm your only niece."

Jenny smiles at the two of them, glad that Ryan could cheer her up because she honestly had no idea how to do it. She claps her hands together, then, and ushers Ryan out of the room, "Okay! Out! Ryan, out! She needs to finish getting ready and get this show on the road!"

"Wait-" She slams the door on her brother, a smirk gracing her face. She turns around to face her smiling niece and nods her head firmly, "Alright, let's get you ready to get married."

**-X-X-X-**

Mike anxiously stands on the altar, next to the Priest. He shifts back and forth on the balls of his feet, his fingers fidgeting with his tie. He closes his eyes, trying to calm himself down, but he can't help it. He's _nervous_.

When he looks into the crowd of people, sitting down and waiting for the ceremony to begin, he spots in the front row, his three brothers, their wives, and his mother. His mother is already in tears – happy for her son, but also upset, feeling as if she is losing her youngest son; the last son of the four to get married.

Then he goes to look beside him, expecting to see his best friend, his _Best_ _Man_, to be standing there, but oddly, he's not there.

"Great," Mike mutters under his breath, the corners of his mouth falling into a frown, "I'm alone." Where could have Ryan went? Does he have any idea how much trouble and _chaos_ he created with his brothers just because he chose Ryan to be his best man over his own siblings? His mother understood, though, but that didn't stop his brothers from wrestling him to the ground and practically having the older two bad mouthing him for weeks.

"C'mon, Ryan…" Mike mumbles, now tapping his hands against his legs. His stomach turns. Should Max be taking this long? What if she backs out at the last minute? They have only known each other for three years so maybe she could be having second thoughts? Never has he been so insecure.

Mike could feel his face pale, his heart almost stop as the blood in his veins stop flowing. What if Mark came back to finish the job? That could surely explain why Ryan is missing… but he would tell him if something like that happened… right?

Okay, that's it. He cannot take it anymore. He rubs his face with his hands and shakes his head. That's it, he's going to go see what the hell is taking so lo-

The piano's soft music echoes loudly throughout the church. Everyone turns their heads, waiting with anxious eyes to see the beautiful bride emerge from the back and into the aisle where they could all see her.

As the music beautifully continues to play the famous tune for when bride's walk down the aisle, Jenny comes into view first, Max's Maid of Honor. Her blonde hair cascading down her back, perfectly straight without a hair out of place. Her eyes pop out with the loads of eye make-up she has on, but on her, it doesn't look too much.

Jenny's black heels add to her height and her violet, fitted dress hugs her curves perfectly, matching the bouquet of purple and white flowers she holds in both hands. She looks beautiful.

She walks down the aisle with a wide, proud smile on her face. She looks at Mike and nods her head at him, signaling to him that everything was perfect; Max was ready.

He smiles back at her, the nerves in his stomach now slowly beginning to disperse. Thank God, she is not a run-away-bride.

The music grows louder, more passionate and everyone knows it is time. The crowd of people then stand up, all of their eyes fixated on the Max, who slowly comes into their view, standing in the doorway, her arm locked through her Uncle's arm.

Mike smiles, now knowing where Ryan was and he is glad he was there for Max. He has known for a while now that this day was going to be hard on her, especially when it came to the part with walking down the aisle. Just like it has been hard on him, not having his dad here either.

Slowly, Max walks down the aisle – all eyes on her. She swallows hard, feeling overwhelmed – nervous. Ryan instantly notices and he glances at her, offering her a small, reassuring smile.

Mike could not get over how absolutely beautiful she looks. Her brunette hair loosely cascades down her back in lose curls. Her white high heels are hidden beneath the long, stunning, pearl white dress that falls to the ground, dragging along behind her.

The satin dress tightly hugs her body, showing off every perfect curve on her. The light make-up she has on compliments her skin; the eye shadow and mascara bringing out her warm, blue eyes. Mike cannot tear his eyes away – he is, truly, in love.

They walk together down the aisle and Max's eyes stay connected to Mike's the entire time. No other person in the church catches her attention, not even the Priest – only Mike, the man she is about to spend the rest of her life with.

She could feel her heart pound in her chest, anxiety overwhelming her as she approaches closer and closer to the altar. Her life changed when she met him and now, it's about to change even more.

A chill shivers down his spine, giving him goose bumps as each step she takes grows closer to the altar. His entire life is about to change, once again, thanks to Max Hardy. She changed him in so many ways and saved him countless of times. He loves her and by getting married, his life will _never_ be the same way again. And he has never been more thrilled for it to happen.

Ryan turns his head to glance at his smiling niece; all of her attention glued to her soon-to-be-husband. He honestly can't think of a time he has see so much love, so much happiness in her eyes, than right now, right at this moment.

When she reaches the altar, Ryan places a soft kiss on her cheek, giving her one final, small, reassuring smile. She accepts it with a smile of her own and a small, thankful, nod.

Mike extends his arm forward, first, to shake hands with Ryan. He then turns his attention back to Max's and grasps her hand into his, pulling her up the small steps and onto the altar.

Ryan takes his place beside Mike; right where the Best Man should be. He watches his niece stand side by side Mike, both looking at the Priest with smiles plastered on their glowing faces.

"Dearly beloved, we are gathered together here in the sight of God to join together this Man and this Woman in holy Matrimony…" And the Priest begins.

The Priest goes on until he reaches the time for Max and Mike to exchange their vows. He pauses, allowing Mike to go first, knowing that the two of them have already written their own vows.

"Max," Mike nervously chuckles, turning to fully face her, and taking her hands in his, "from the moment I laid eyes on you, I knew you were going to be some pain in the ass."

She rolls her eyes at him, not being able to prevent the smile from spreading across her face. He smirks at her, chuckling lightly, before continuing. "When I met you, I'm pretty sure you hated me. We didn't get off the on the right foot at all, but that all changed when we started working together; getting to know each other. I did admire how smart you were, I was impressed with your abilities with computers, and I admired how much you loved your family that you would risk everything to help them; to protect them."

He takes a deep breath, gathering his thoughts in his head. All eyes were on him. Max's loving blue hues staring up at him, waiting for him to continue. "I really loved your determination and devotion and as we started working together, I really felt this urge to protect you, at all costs. There have been so many close calls… so many times I thought I lost you…"

Max squeezes his hand, letting him know that it is all okay now. Everything is finally over and they have nothing to worry about. "I am an idiot for waiting so long to kiss you – to let you know how I feel. Max Hardy, I have never met a woman more beautiful and I do, with all my heart, love you. You have saved me so many times in so many ways. I want us to start a life together."

He pauses for a moment, letting her take in those words, before taking his final vow, "I, Michael – Mike – Emerson Weston, take you, Maxine Jessica Hardy, to be my wife, my constant friend, my faithful partner, and my love from this day forward. I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live."

She could feel her throat tighten as she holds her tears back. She takes a few, deep breathes, knowing it is her turn. All eyes now rest upon her. She blinks her eyes a few times when she feels the tears rush to her eyes, but nope, she refuses to let the tears escape.

"When I first met you, I_ did_ hate you." She smirks at him, "I thought you were a jerk and honestly wanted nothing to do with you."

"Oh, thanks." Mike jokes, a playful roll to the eyes. Oh, he remembers perfectly how much Max wanted to strangle him when they first met – especially when he brought up the Hardy Death Curse.

"_But_," She continues with a grin gracing her face, "when I really got to know you… I still didn't like you." He laughs along with the rest of the people seated in the church. She shakes her head, "You were still a jerk except you were a jerk with anger problems. Yeah, you had a short temper that got heated quickly."

He opens his mouth to protest, but she beats him to it. "Then I got to know you even more. I learned that you cared about your friends, about your family, and you would do anything and everything to protect them. I loved that about you. You never backed down and you never gave up. You're also loyal. You would rather be beaten to a pulp – you would rather _die_ – then give away information to the bad guys. You're loyal to your job and to the people you care about."

"You saved my life plenty of times and I have never felt so safe than when I'm with you, in your arms. Now, after everything, I couldn't imagine a world without you. I love you so, so much."

She smiles, a single tear now rolling down her cheek, "So, I, Maxine – Max – Jessica Hardy, take you, Michael Emerson Weston, to be my husband, my constant friend, my faithful partner, and my love from this day forward. I offer you my solemn vow to be your faithful partner in sickness and in health, in good times and in bad, and in joy as well as in sorrow. I promise to love you unconditionally, to support you in your goals, to honor and respect you, to laugh with you and cry with you, and to cherish you for as long as we both shall live."

"Michael Weston," The Priest turns to him, "place this ring on the hand of Maxine Hardy and repeat after me: With this ring I symbolize my commitment to you. It will be an ever-present token of my promise and my love."

Mike does so, sliding the ring gently on Max's ring finger. Then, the Priest turns to Max, "Maxine Hardy, place this ring on the hand of Michael Weston and repeat after me: With this ring I symbolize my commitment to you. It will be an ever-present token of my promise and my love."

And Max does so, sliding the ring onto Mike's ring finger.

The Priest raises his hands, his voice rising as he asks the final question before he pronounces them husband and wife, "If any man can show just cause, why they may not lawfully be joined together, let him now speak, or else hereafter forever hold his peace."

When no one say a word, the church falling into a peaceful silence, the Priest turns to the couple with a small smile, "Now, you have given and pledged your promises to each other, and have declared your everlasting love by giving and receiving rings. By the authority vested in me by the State of New York, I now pronounce you husband and wife."

The Priest then turns his head to Mike, "You may kiss the bride."

With a wide, childish grin plastered on Mike's face, he immediately wraps his arms around Max's waist, pulling her body tightly against his. Her arms wrap around his neck, her eyes meeting his for a brief moment before their lips connect in a long, passionate kiss – their first kiss as husband and wife.

"I love you." Mike breathes against her lips before capturing her lips once more, not giving her a chance to say it back.

Ryan and Jenny watch from the sides, watching their niece kiss her newly husband, watching her build a life for herself.

The two siblings glance at one another, a smile on both of their faces. They are happy for Max and Ryan could not be any happier that she married Mike. He trusted Mike – he was a good friend and he knows he will treat her right; he will be a good husband.

And if he's not, he will break every damn bone in his body.

Ryan strolls over to his sister, a wide smirk on her face. He rolls his eyes, "Why are you looking so happy?"

"I'm happy for her and I know you are too." She nudges him, "Admit it."

It takes a few moments, but he nods his head eventually, "Yeah… yeah I am. But if he hurts her in any way-"

"Save it." Jenny laughs, "We did good. _You_ did good. Ray would be proud and would be surely happy that you kept your promise. You took care of her, protected her."

When she realizes Ryan isn't going to say anything else on the subject, she takes her brother's arm and smiles, "C'mon, let's head to the reception."


	11. Guilt

**Hi everyone! It's been forever, hasn't it? I cannot even begin to describe to you all how bad I feel for not updating in a long, long time. I truly haven't had the chance to write anything - I honestly couldn't tell you the last time I wrote a story. On the bright side! I got accepted into college, I'm graduating high school in June, and I'm doing extremely well in school as of now! Which, is why I've been gone for a while. School and applying to colleges have taken up a lot of my time and I am truly sorry for that.**

**Hopefully this chapter is good and whoever is still reading this, I do hope you enjoy! :)**

_Maxton5evah _\- I didn't forget about your request. And, I must say, I _love_ your prompt! I'm actually in the middle of writing up the chapter, so you could except to read that shorty! This idea just popped into my head while I was in school and I began to write while your prompt was already in the middle of being written on my computer. But! Just know that I loved your idea and I'll surely be continuing on working on that! :D

**So, what did you guys think of _The Following_'s new season? ;) I am disappointed about Max and Mike not being together... But that show is certainly something else... I just love it so much, haha.**

**Anyways, onward to the story! _Please comment/review and let me know what you think of it. I'd greatly appreciate it and surely look forward to reading _****_your thoughts/opinions/feedback, etc. Thank you!_**

**And, of course, thank you for reading!**

**WARNING: This is a _spoiler_ to season three if you haven't seen it. And yes, in this chapter, Max and Mike are still together.  
**

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_Guilt_"

**. . .**

A content sigh escapes her lips as her mind drifts deeper into the peaceful land of dreams. A small smile rests on her lips as she lightly stirs in her bed, her head snuggling further into her pillow. Subconsciously, her hand curls around her blanket, pulling it further up her body until it reaches her chin. She seems to be deep within her dreams, no sighs of her near waking up, considering it is still the early hours before the sun has chosen to rise itself.

Vaguely, her subconscious could hear a voice calling her name, sounding almost desperate. A voice sounding so familiar to her ears, but her brain unable to register who the voice belongs to. She attempts to slide her heavy eyes open, to reveal her crystal blue eyes, but it's as if the dreams are restraining her from waking up. The voice grows louder now, practically yelling out to her, and this time she pries her light sapphire eyes. While her eyes are heavy and would prefer to remain closed, her lids listen to her request and open, officially bringing her back to the land of the living.

She moves only her eyes at first, allowing her vision to adjust to the darkness of her bedroom. She blinks several times before finally turning her head to the side, expecting to see her partner beside her, but only finding it empty. Her eyebrows furrow together as confusion waves over her body, her mind immediately spinning with ideas of where he could have gone in the middle of the night.

She sits up in bed and runs her hand through her tousled hair. Her eyes threaten to close once more, daring to pull her back to her peaceful, carefree, dreams. Her eyelids slowly begin to shut and then - _bang!_

Her eyes immediately fly open, her instincts kicking in without hesitation as panic surges through her entire body. She could feel her heart pounding in her chest, the anxiety eating and devouring her insides, and she could feel her blood flow come to a sudden halt. Quickly, she jumps out of bed, her bare feet slapping against the cold wooden floor as she grabs her gun hidden underneath her pillow.

Holding her breath, her gun aimed, she makes her way slowly begins to make her way through the hall and towards the living room. She squints her eyes, attempting to focus her vision better through the path of darkness of her long hallway. Right when she is halfway down the hall, she could hear his voice again, calling her name. The voice… the same she heard through her dreams. The familiar deep voice that whispers her name, sounding desperate and pained.

She knows the voice.

Her mind draws blank for several moments before it finally clicks and she could feel her stomach immediately tighten at the thought.

Mike.

He wasn't in bed beside her when she woke up. He wasn't anywhere to be found. She knows that voice though and it's definitely his, without a doubt in her mind. He was and still is calling her name, sounding worse by the passing moments. He's hurt. He's in trouble. He's calling her. He needs her. Where is he?

Her pace quickens, her mind thinking of nothing else besides for her missing boyfriend. She rushes down the hall until she reaches her living room, where she comes to an immediate stop. She freezes, her whole being going numb. While the panic and fear corrupt her body, it surges through her blood, practically causing her heart to thunder widely in her chest. Her lungs are squeezing, her breaths coming out in short gasps.

She could no longer feel her death-grip on her gun in her hand; the heavy weight of the weapon gone. She could feel the salty tears fall from her eyes and spill down her cheeks in an instant. Her mouth opens and clothes several times with no voices coming out. The voice she heard, which belonged to Mike, are growing quieter as another voice echoes throughout the room. She knows the new voice.

The voice belongs to the man she failed to save.

She feels her body suddenly drenched in something wet, soaking her body and clothing. Her body begins to shiver as her eyes refuse to tear away from the small, metal box, placed on the coffee table in her living room. The metal box that will forever be embedded into her mind, invading her vision time to time with terrifying flashbacks. The metal box that changed so many times and changed so many people - _hurt_ so many people.

The vomit ushers up her throat, threatening to spill as clasps her hands over her mouth. When the palm of her shaking hands cover her mouth, she feels the wetness touch her skin. With her eyebrows torn together and forcing her eyes to tear away from the box, she cautiously looks down at her hands. Her hands painted red.

Her mouth released a blood curdling scream as she looks down, her whole body soaked in a crimson liquid. She takes a step back, only leaving her to slip on the liquid and fall in the pool of blood suddenly surrounding her. She can't breathe. The voice grows louder and louder until it's the only thing left she could hear - the voice blocking out her own sound of screams.

She first stares at the blood staining her clothes before turning her attention to see the thin trail of red leading up to the metal box resting on her marble table. She squeezes her eyes shut, wishing for this nightmare to disappear and leave her alone, but when she reopens her eyes, her nightmare only worsens.

FBI Special Agent Jeffrey Clarke's body lies in front of her, his body stained in red, as his limbs fold neatly on top of one another. His body folded enough together to fit in the metal box. His open, but lifeless, eyes stare straight at her, his voice whispering "_help me_" repeatedly in her ears.

She couldn't move, couldn't move her eyes away, couldn't do a damn thing. Only stare back at the dead man she failed.

She has blood on her hands that could never wash away.

* * *

"Max!" Mike's voice brings her awake, pulling her finally out of her nightmare. Her eyes snap open with her blue hues swirling with panic. Her body flings itself up into a sitting position as her breathing comes out in pained gasps. Her trembling hands reach out to grasp Mike's arm in a near death grip. Her eyes frantically search around, her eyes widen with a certain fear he doesn't think he has ever seen before.

"Max," He repeats, his concern blues staring into hers, "Max, you're okay. It was just a -"

"No," She interrupts, her heart rate increasing along with her gasps of air, "no, it _wasn't_ just a _dream_, Mike." Still using one hand to hold onto his arm, she uses her free hand to run through her messy brown locks. Meanwhile, her gaze falls to the tousled sheets, which are partly wrapped around her. "I… It… It was so _real_."

"It was a nightmare, Max. Whatever it was, you're safe now, okay? I promise." He whispers, cupping her cheek with the palm of his hand while he uses his other hand to rest on her exposed knee that escaped from beneath the covers.

"But it wasn't, Mike. I…" She closes her eyes briefly, taking in a deep breath before continuing, "I can't stop thinking about it. About _him_."

He knows exactly who she is talking about because he hasn't been able to get Agent Clarke out of his head either. And he's sure Ryan is going through the same thing as them. The guilt consuming them until they find it difficult to breathe. They failed Clarke - their to solely to blame for his death. They could have confessed to the world their sins, but they chose not to. They chose to risk Clarke's life and he paid the price of their mistakes - of their selfishness and pride.

"I know." He mumbles, now glaring at the wall behind Max's head. Hatred for Mark Gray and his followers pumping through his veins; the desire for revenge giving him the strength to wake up every morning and climb out of bed. "All I think about is him. The same for Ryan. Max -"

"We should have confessed." She stops him, not wanting to hear lies from her boyfriend. She knows he'll say it isn't her fault and he and Ryan will take all the blame, but she does't want to hear it. It's her fault just as much as theirs. "Maybe… _maybe_ he would still be alive today. He would still be with his _wife_ and have his _job_. He would have his _life_."

"Or, maybe, they would have killed him anyways." Mike counters, his eyebrows drawing together, "You don't think Mark would have had us confess only to kill Clarke regardless? Us confessing does nothing except give him satisfaction. We need to stop him, not confess to something we shouldn't be sorry for!"

Max shakes her eyes, a tear sliding down her cheek, "And how many more people does he kill in the process? What in the hell stops him from killing someone else close to us? He's crazy and he wants the three of us to _suffer_, Mike! Clarke's dead! He's - he's - Mike…" Her voice breaks and Mike immediately pulls her into his arms, holding her tightly against him.

He whispers soothing, comforting words in her ear, occasionally pressing light kisses on the top of her head. He keeps his arms wrapped securely around her trembling body, never letting go. He will never let go. He will never allow her to lose herself in this grief or guilt.

Mike shuts his eyes and rests his cheek against the crown of her head. He listens to her soft cries where her tears soak his shirt and he only holds her tighter. They'll get through this. The three of them got through Joe Carroll and his endless followers - they could get through this. Together.

She doesn't feel an ounce of guilt for killing Luke Gray. She doesn't care or feel guilty for not being able to stop Mike from killing Lily Gray. They both deserved to die. Every follower Ryan killed deserved death. She doesn't feel guilty for putting all her energy and dedicating her life to stop these cults.

But _this_? She feels guilt. She feels _beyond_ remorse and the guilt burns inside of her, burning holes throughout her body. The guilt of failing Clarke will forever be with her. Every night from this moment on her nightmares will remind her of her deepest regret. It will never disappear. The aching pain she feels right now will always be there, reminding her of her failure to save a _friend_. Her guilt will live the rest its life with her, always plaguing her thoughts and dreams.

She has blood on her hands that could never wash away.


	12. Revenge - Part One

**Hi there fellow readers. How are you all doing? So, my summer is finally here so now I should be able to have the time to update a lot more frequently. I officially graduated from high school, and for the most part all set up for college. I'm sorry it's been this long since I've last posted anything, but with the summer here and all, I should have more time to write. Especially now with _The Following_ being cancelled (can you believe that?), all I really have are my stories and reading Fanfiction… I feel so lost now; beyond devastated they ended it.**

**I'm currently writing the next two pieces: Part 2 of this chapter and a prompt by **_Maxton5evah_**. They both should be up rather soon, so stay tuned for those!**

**The prompt is: _mnnie8778_: **_"Can you make one where Mark uses Max to get to Mike? And Mike saves or something and there's a whole lot of confessions?" _I started this idea a bit while back ago, but didn't get to finish and then when I saw your prompt, it gave me a wave of inspiration to finish and write this. I hope it's not disappointing and you enjoy!

**Hopefully you all enjoy this! I'm pretty much back and I want to sincerely thank you all for your wonderful comments you have left. I love reading them and it's nice to see how much you all enjoy my writing. I cannot explain to you how much it means to me. :)**

**Well, without further ado, here's part one of this prompt. _Please leave a comment/review letting me know your thoughts/opinions/feedback/etc. I'd greatly appreciate it, thanks! _**

**I OWN NOTHING; I DO NOT OWN THE FOLLOWING.**

* * *

"_Revenge_"

Part One

**. . .**

"Shit," Max mutters under her breath, a heavy sigh following suit the second she takes a seat on the couch of her and Mike's apartment. She listens to her cellphone ring loudly from the bedroom and reluctantly pulls herself up from the couch, dragging herself down the hall and to her room. Of course the phone would wait until she sat down before it decided to ring.

Cursing under her breath the entire way, she walks into her bedroom and rushes to pick up her cellphone before it hung up and sends the caller to her voicemail. Without even glancing at the caller ID, she answers it with an annoyed and raspy, "What?"

_"You sound great." _Mike chuckles on the other end of the line, _"Is everything okay, babe? How're you holding up?"_

"Define _okay.._." Max sighs into the phone, her voice trailing off as she takes a seat on the edge of the bed. "I'm still alive, if that counts. Still not feeling well."

_"And you called the doctor again, right? What did she say?"_ Max could hear the genuine concern lace in her husband's voice. She's been sick for the last couple of days and she doesn't seem to be getting any better. She's been throwing up, having a fever, and her energy has been completely drained from her body. Mike has been a nervous wreck, not having a clue what to do and panicking even when Max's doctor already cleared her from having anything major or harmful.

A small smile plays on the corner of her lips, twitching up slightly at the immediate concern Mike has for her. "Yes, I called Doctor Maccia again this morning after you left for work. She said I'm fine, just starting to have a cold. I need to have lots of rest, that's it. I'm good; throat is killing me though."

_"Get some sleep then." _He gently says. "_You need it. Makes you feel any better, you're not missing much here. It's kind of slow and quiet for once, besides for your uncle waking up on the wrong side of the bed."_

A strained chuckle leaves her lips, making her slightly wince when her throat begins to burn. "Don't make me laugh." She rubs tiredly at her eyes before adding with a smirk, "I guess Ryan and I have that in common. We're grumpy when we don't have enough sleep, lack of coffee, or when we just wake up on the wrong side of the bed."

"_Yeah, you got that right."_ Before Max could comment on that, he cuts her off quickly, _"Yeah, so I'll see you later tonight. I gotta run, but if you need me, call, okay? Love you."_

"Love you too, Mike." She whispers, faintly smiling at the words. She hangs up the phone then, placing it back on the nightstand beside the bed before lifting herself off the mattress. She walks over to the closet and pulls out one of Mike's sweatshirts then quickly pulls it over her head and over her white tank top.

She bites back a yawn and fights to keep her tired eyes open. Her body feels extremely sore and while her skin burns to the touch, she feels as if she is freezing. She runs her hand through her tousled hair as she exists her bedroom and heads back into the living area. She hopes to watch some TV and maybe drift off to sleep for a few hours until Mike comes home.

While one hand rests on her forehead, her other hand rests on her swollen stomach. With her barely open eyes, her feet takes her to the kitchen and she immediately sets work in making herself a cup of tea. She may not be much of a tea drinker, she'd rather coffee, but the warm liquid mixed with honey has been soothing her throat and it helps her relax. Of course, when she first got sick Mike literally had to force her to drink it, however now she's more willing... kinda.

She stirs her tea while heading back over to the couch. When she collapses onto the couch, she curls her legs beneath her as she nurses her steaming cup of tea. She gently blows on the hot liquid as she closes her eyes for a brief moment, enjoying the silence of the apartment. All the thoughts vanish from her mind, leaving her in a blissful peace of tranquility as she attempts to ignore the burning fever and cold chills.

Everything seems to be perfect in those few moments of silence, until she heard it. That familiar voice that she will never forget for the remaining years of her life. That voice that almost destroyed her and everyone else she has ever cared about. It's that familiar, cold voice that has been missing for the last three years of her life, but still haunted her dreams almost every night.

"Hello, Max. Long time no see."

* * *

Max's eyes snap open with alarm as she immediately sits up straight, the cup clattering to the floor with the liquid spilling all over her and the couch in the process. She ignores the burning sensation on her legs from her tea and whips her head around to see _him _standing right behind her, a wide grin plastered across his face. She feels all the air squeeze out of her lungs as the blood flowing in her veins runs cold. She opens and closes her mouth, the shock settling in as she feels herself on the verge of passing out.

"_Mark_," She breathes out, using all her training she has ever learned to keep herself calm, "what are you doing here?"

"Oh, was I gone too long? I know it's been a while - sorry. I wanted everything to be perfect, but I couldn't wait any longer." The frown on his face quickly turns into a smile, "It's weird, actually. I was going to wait until tomorrow, but my excitement got in the way, I guess."

She keeps eye contact with him, not missing the way his fingers fidget at his sides or the way he can't seem to keep still. He walks around the couch so he's standing directly in front of her rather than behind the couch. Her glare remaining on him at all times. Her eyebrows slowly furrow together as a mask of confusion washes over her. "Why tomorrow? What's-"

A low, animalistic growl crawls up Mark's throat and escapes his mouth with his eyes growing darker, colder. Max could swear she can see the flames dancing in his eyes and the steam burning off his skin. She opens her mouth to speak, but he cuts her off with a cry as his foot kicks over the coffee table, "You forgot? Oh, of _course_ you'd forget! Forget the day you _killed_ my _twin_ brother! Just like _that_. You _shot _him. You didn't even think twice - _nope_, you just shot my brother dead and - and - and-"

"_And_ what?" Max snaps, testing him and his short temper. She needs to get him to lose focus. She needs to have him distracted enough to leave her just a moment's chance to escape.

"Bro, stay calm. Remember, you need to focus. This is important. She's just trying to get you distracted so she could try to make a move. Don't let her." Mark mutters to himself, his eyes looking distant.

Max freezes, her head slightly cocking to the side as she observes Mark. He's... talking to himself? She watches him start to pace in front of her; his head hangs with his eyes glued to the floor as one hand rubs the back of his neck while the other clenches in a tight fist at his side. This is her chance. A risky one with him inches in front of her, but it'll probably be her own chance.

"I know, I know. You're right, Luke. I-" Max doesn't wait another second before lifting her leg and, with all her strength and as hard as she can, kicks him in the knee. A sharp yell falls from his lips as he crashes to the ground, his hands immediately flying to hold his injured leg.

Quickly, the brunette hops to her feet and dashes down the hall, praying she makes it to her bedroom before Mark makes it back onto his feet. She makes it half way down the hall before she feels his body tackle her to the ground, him landing on top of her back.

He holds her down with his body as his hands go to grab her wrist while she struggles against him. _Do something, _her brain screams at her. She sucks in a deep breath and pushes her elbow into his stomach, making him lift off her just a few inches, allowing her to turn herself over so she's lying on her back instead. When he goes to yank on her hair, she turns her head to wrap her mouth around his arm and push her teeth down into his skin. She screws her eyes shut and bites as hard as her teeth will go in - she is pretty sure she could taste blood in her mouth.

A scream of agony rips from his throat as he places the palm of his hand over her face and shoves her off him. He holds his bleeding arm against his chest as he stares down at the blood, his eyes darkening. Anger boils inside of him and, with a voice sounding like Luke's, shouts, "You _bitch!_"

"Get the _hell _away from me!" She hisses through clenched teeth as she scatters to her feet and runs into the bedroom. She slams the door shut the second he goes to enter and she instantly locks it. Anxiety builds inside of her, overwhelming her. She can't catch her breath and it feels as if all the air is being squeezed out of her lungs.

Mark's going to kill her.

She knows it. His desire for revenge is devouring him to a point where he's not even thinking clearly anymore. Luke? He knows she heard Mark call himself Luke. The loss of his twin brother - the twin brother that _she_ killed - is making him lose all touch with reality and having only the thirst for revenge drive his actions. Red is all he sees, blinding his vision, and surely enough, if he gets his way, she'll be dead before the end of tonight.

Shaking her head, she rushes over to the nightstand and begins pushing it towards the door. She can't afford to think that way. Right now, she needs to hope that placing the piece of furniture in front of the door will buy her some time.

"Open the door!" It still sounds like Luke, Max notes to herself as he continues to shout through the door. This time, she can almost see the smug look upon his face when he adds, "Come on, Max, I promise _I_ won't hurt you. My brother may, but I just want to have some fun with you. So, why don't you open the _damn_ door before somebody gets hurt."

"You must be crazier than I thought if you think I'm going to open this door for you." Max snaps as she desperately looks around for her cell phone. It was on top of her nightstand before she moved it against the door. It must have fallen somewhere on the ground. On her hands and knees, her panic-stricken eyes squint in hopes it would help her see better through the darkness of the room while her hands frantically search the floor.

"Shit," She mutters under her breath, "where the hell is it?" Just as the words spill from her lips, her fingertips brush against a cold object that, to her relief, is her cell phone. With trembling hands, she unlocks her phone and begins to dial the familiar number she had memorized merely days after meeting him.

Mark - or Luke - starts banging on the door, the nightstand slowly moving away from the door push by push, inch by inch.

The phone rings in her ear and her stomach churns, twisting into a tight knot while her brain burns with countless thoughts - feeling as if it was on fire. How much longer does she have before the twin breaks in? What is he going to do with her? Hurt her? Make her suffer endlessly for killing his twin brother? Kill her? Where's Mike and why the _hell_ isn't he answering his phone?

She doesn't have time to leave a voicemail. She needs him or her uncle on the phone - _now_.

"Damn it!" She hisses through clenched teeth, frustration getting to her with tears beginning to brim the corners of her eyes. Holding her breath now, she dials Ryan's number, praying to God that he answers.

Voicemail.

"_This is Ryan Hardy - I can't get to the phone right now, but leave your name and number and I'll be sure to get back to you as soon as I can. If it's an emergency, call either the police or contact me through the FBI._" After Max hears the beep, she barely has the chance to breathe out her uncle's name before she feels a cold hand cover her mouth.

The phone slips through her fingers when Mark wraps an arm around her torso, holding her against him. He uses one hand to restrain her wrists together while he uses the other to keep firmly over her mouth. She struggles against him, attempting to squeeze out of his hold, but it's to no avail.

His hold on her tightens and right as she goes to swing her head back to knock him down that way, she feels a slight pain sting her neck. She can feel the liquid squeeze into her neck through a syringe and within seconds, she collapses into his arms, her eyes falling shut.

"Ah," Mark grins down at the unconscious brunette, "much better."

"Yeah, I like her better like this, too." Tilting his head, Luke brushes a strand piece of hair out of her face, "She's a feisty one. She'll be fun to kill, won't she?"

"Indeed she will, Bro. Let's get her back in the living room. We've got lots of work to do."

With a cocky grin gracing along his features, Luke nods his head and bends down to pick up Max's cell phone, "Now we just have to get Mikey here."

* * *

"Max?" Mike calls out to the unusually quiet apartment. He glances down at his phone, kicking the door shut behind him. He opens his messages and looks at the last text she had sent him about twenty minutes ago, asking him to come home immediately.

"I got your text. You're still not feeling any better?" He calls out, slipping his phone into his back pocket. Did she fall asleep after sending the text? He walks further into the apartment, entering the living where his eyes instantly fall on his wife, sleeping soundly on the couch.

A soft smile spreads across his face, his heart practically warming at the sight of her lying peacefully on her side, her tousled hair brushed over her face. Her skin looks pale and her face looks exhausted. _If she doesn't feel better within the next day, I'm taking her to the hospital_, he notes.

Walking over to her, Mike bends down to press a gentle kiss on the top of her head. He gingerly moves her hair out of her face, being careful not to wake her. Just as he is about to stand up, his eyes notice the faintest mark on her neck. He carefully moves his face closer, his eyes narrowing on the faint puncture hole left on her skin. He stands up, his eyebrows furrowed together with confusion settling in, and he opens his mouth, only to feel a hard object collide with the back of his skull.


End file.
